(h.S.-oif. 


<^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^ 


Presented    b7V^T-^5\C\(2/r\-V"V(7vV\ 

BX  9178  .M32  S47  1888 

McCarrell,  Joseph,  1795- 

1864. 
Sermons 


or^ 


t^yOO  (^c 


cx^^^-^^^^ 


SERMONS 


/ 

BY    tHE 

REV.  JOSEPH  McCARRELL,  D.D. 


NEW  YORK 
DODD,  MEAD  &  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1888, 

BY 

DODD,  MEAD  &  COMPANY. 
All  rights  reserved. 


PREFACE. 

THIS  brief  and  imperfect  sketch  is  a  compilation, 
from  such  published  records  as  could  be  ob- 
tained, with  the  kind  assistance  of  a  friend  in 
preparing  the  papers  for  the  press. 

Many  of  these  sermons  were  preached  and 
published  "  by  request "  a  number  of  years  ago, 
and,  as  a  friend  of  my  late  father  writes,  "At 
that  time  they  had  a  wide  circulation,  with  high- 
est appreciation,  from  those  who  could  best  judge  of 
their  value." 

Frequent  requests  have  recently  been  made  for 
copies  of  some  of  these  sermons,  but  most  of  them 
had  been  published  so  early  in  his  ministry  that 
they  had  passed  out  of  print  and  could  not  be  ob- 
tained. It  has  been  a  pleasant  task  to  try  to  place 
in  a  more  permanent  form  so  much  at  least  of  the 
works  of  my  father. 

Only  a  small  part  of  his  writings  are  given  in 
this  volume.  He  had  prepared  for  the  press. 
Expositions  of  the  Epistles  to  the  Hebrews  and 
the  Ephesians,  and  of  The  Revelation,  and  some  of 
the  Prophets.  Looking  over  the  mass  of  neatly 
prepared  manuscript,  it  has  been  a  matter  of  amaze- 
ment how  all  this  work  could  have  been  accom- 
plished by  one  who  was  not  only  Pastor  of  a  large 


IV  PREFACE. 


congregation,  but  also  Professor  of  Greek  and 
Hebrew  in  a  theological  seminary,  and  at  this  time 
the  only  one  to  teach  the  students  anything  to  fit 
them  for  the  office  of  the  ministry.  How  well 
this  was  done,  the  band  of  noble  men  who  are 
scattered  all  over  this  land  and  also  in  foreign  lands 
can  testify.  All  was  work  for  "  the  Master "  he 
so  loved  to  serve,  and  not  for  worldly  gain,  as  his 
salary  from  the  seminary  was  merely  nominal,  a 
pittance  of  $300  a  year. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  why  the  family  rardy 
saw  my  father,  except  in  the  evenings,  which  he 
always  cheerfully  devoted  to  them.  Or  why,  at 
sixty-eight  years  of  age,  he  should  be  taken  away, 
with  no  disease,  as  his  physician  said. 

The  truth  is  correctly  given  in  a  sentence  from 
a  sketch  which  appeared  in  1876,  in  a  work  called 
''  Men  of  Mark  of  Cumberland  Valley,  Penn.,'* 
by  Rev.  Alfred  Nevin,  D.D.  He  says,  *' Dr. 
McCarrell's  last  years  were  made  sad  by  various 
causes,  which  could  not  operate  upon  such  a  nature 
as  his  without  reaching  and  affecting  the  fountain 
of  physical  life. 

"The  changes  in  the  denomination*  to  which  he 
was  so  warmly  attached,   causing  separation  from 

*  The  Associate  Reformed  Church,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called,  the  Scotch  Presbyterian,  was  for  many  years  a  strong 
body  of  Calvinists  in  New  York  and  Pennsyh^ania.  (See  life 
of  Dr.  John  M.  Mason.)  And  there  is  yet  in  the  South,  I  am 
told,  a  large  and  influential  body  of  Associate  Reformed 
Presbyterians. 


PREFA  CE. 


brethren  with  v/hom  he  had  so  long  been  closely 
connected  in  ecclesiastical  fellowship,  and  the  death 
of  his  eldest  daughter  all  made  a  deep  and  visible 
impression  upon  him.  That  *  his  strength  was 
weakened  in  the  way  '  was  obvious  to  all.  With 
only  a  few  days  illness  he  '  fell  on  sleep,'  March, 
1864,  and  is  buried  in  the  'Old  Graveyard*  in  the 
center  of  the  city  of  Newburgh,  N.  Y.,  surrounded  by 
his  elders,  who  also  are  '  waiting  for  the  adoption.' 

*'  Dr.  McCarrell  was  married  to  a  Miss  Jane  B. 
Leiper,  of  Shippensburgh,  Penn.,  a  lady  of  superior 
excellence  as  a  minister's  wife.  His  family  con- 
sisted of  eight  children,  four  of  whom  are  living, 
and  also  one  grandson." 

On  a  hill  which  commands  a  fine  view  of  the 
city  of  Newburgh  and  the  Hudson  stands  the 
"Theological  Seminary,"  a  large  stone  building. 
It  is  now  used  as  a  boarding-school  for  boys;  the 
school  is  successfully  conducted,  and  is  still  under 
Presbyterian  influence. 

The  ''old  church"  is  the  same  unpretending 
edifice,  with  alterations  in  the  interior.  The  truth 
is  still  taught  by  an  able  minister  of  the  "Word," 
and  the  old  sweet  bell  yet  softly  tolls  the  hour  of 
service, — but  many  of  that  once  large  congrega- 
tion no  longer  gather  there  to  worship :  many  are 
scattered  far  and  wide,  and  very  many  are  singing 
the  "new  song"  of  the  redeemed  in  the  "upper 
Sanctuary."  R.   McC. 

May,  1888. 


INTRODUCTORY, 


"  '"PHE  Rev.  Joseph  McCarrell,  D.D.,  was  a  native 
1  of  Shippensburgh,  Pa.,  and  was  born  on  the 
9th  of  July,  1795.  His  parents  were  warmly  at- 
tached members  of  the  *'  Associate  Reformed  Pres- 
byterian Church  "  of  that  place,  and  the  region  was 
one  whose  history  was  connected  with  the  earliest 
annals  of  the  denomination,  in  the  communion  of 
which  Dr.  McCarrell  lived  and  died,  and  for  which 
he  had  an  unchangeable  affection. 

His  mind  was  early  turned  towards  the  ministry 
of  the  gospel ;  and  he  entered  upon  studies  prepar- 
atory thereto,  availing  himself  of  such  helps  as  were 
within  his  reach,  though  in  the  main  he  had  to  de- 
pend upon  his  own  efforts,  and  was  in  fact  (to  a 
great  extent)  a  self-made  man. 

While  preparing  for  college  in  18 14,  the  country 
was  electrified  by  the  news  of  the  capture  of  Wash- 
ington, the  burning  of  the  Capitol  and  other  public 
buildings,  and  the  threatened  attack  on  Baltimore. 
The  militia  of  the  adjacent  counties  of  Pennsyl- 
vania marched  as  quickly  as  possible  to  the  scene 

*  This  sketch  was  published  in  the  Newburgh yi^wrwa/  at  the  time 
of  Dr.  McCarrell's  death,  April,  1864. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


of  danger.  Among  them  was  Joseph  McCarrell. 
For  three  days  and  nights  the  young  student- 
soldier  was  in  the  trenches  awaiting  the  onset  of 
the  enemy.  I  have  often  heard  him  describe  the 
magnificent  scene  which  he  witnessed  —  the  bom- 
bardment of  Fort  McHenry,  and  the  anxiety  with 
which  they  watched  at  the  dawn  of  each  day  to  see 
whether  our  flag  was  still  in  place.  (As  is  well 
known,  it  was  this  scene  which  inspired  Mr.  Francis 
M.  Key  to  write  that  lyric  which  the  American 
people  will  never  willingly  let  die, — "  The  Star 
Spangled  Banner.") 

Soon  after  his  return  home,  he  entered  Wash- 
ington and  Jefferson  College,  Washington,  Pa.,  and 
graduated  with  high  honors  in  the  class  of  1815.  In 
1818,  he  entered  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the 
Associate  Reformed  Church,  then  in  New  York,  un- 
der the  care  of  the  distinguished  Dr.  John  M. 
Mason.  He  brought  to  the  Seminary  an  amount  of 
attainment  in  certain  branches  of  learning  which 
very  few  possess  when  leaving  it,  for  he  had  made 
himself  a  thorough  Hebrew  scholar,  and  had  read 
the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  in  that  language. 

Having  finished  the  prescribed  course  of  studj'-,  he 
was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Big  Spring,  Pa., 
on  the  2ist  of  June,  1821.  For  several  months  he 
supplied  the  Associate  Reformed  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  Murray  Street,  New  York  (vacant  by  the 
resignation  of  Dr.  Mason),  with  so  much  acceptance, 
that  not  a  few  of  its  members  wished  to  call  him  as 


INTRODUCTORY, 


their  pastor.  But  he  was  destined  to  spend  his  life 
in  another  sphere.  Declining  a  call  to  a  church  in 
Hagerstown,  Maryland,  at  the  same  time,  he  was 
soon  after  invited  to  assume  the  pastoral  care  of 
the  Associate  Reformed  Church,  Newburgh,  N.  Y. 
This  invitation  he  accepted,  and  was  ordained  to 
the  gospel  ministry  and  installed  pastor,  March  14, 
1823.  His  pastorate  of  this  church  covered  a 
period  of  41  years,  and  was  nearly  as  long  as  the 
united  pastorates  of  his  four  predecessors. 

The  society,  though  one  of  the  oldest  in  New- 
burgh, was  by  no  means  large  when  he  became  its 
pastor,  but  from  that  time  it  steadily  advanced  in 
numbers,  and  has  become  the  mother  of  two  other 
congregations. 

In  1829,  the  Seminary,  which  had  been  suspended 
in  New  York  city  for  some  years,  was  revived,  es- 
tablished at  Newburgh,  and  Dr.  McCarrell  was 
chosen  Professor  of  Theology  by  the  Associate 
Reformed  Synod  of  New  York.  He  held  the  office 
until  a  few  years  before  his  death,  and  during  that 
period  he  had  some  seventy  j^oung  men  under  his 
care,  all  of  whom  ever  felt  for  him  the  warmest  affec- 
tion because  of  his  rare  goodness  in  every  sense  of 
that  word,  and  the  highest  respect  for  his  intellectual 
abilities. 

As  a  preacher,  he  had  not  a  particle  of  sensation- 
alism about  him.  In  the  pulpit  he  was  wholly 
free  from  all  mannerism,  and  usually  calm,  yet 
occasionally  he  would  rise  to  a  high  strain  of  pa- 


INTRODUCTORY. 


thetic  eloquence,  showing  what  a  latent  power 
there  was  in  the  man.  He  had  a  profound  rever- 
ence for  sacred  things.  The  creed  he  professed  was 
the  creed  he  held  with  his  whole  heart,  and  from 
which  he  never  varied.  And  he  had  the  courage  of 
his  convictions,  as  he  showed  by  preaching  his  ser- 
mons on  '*  Bible  Temperance"  (which  subjected  him 
to  not  a  little  adverse  criticism). 

For  the  Bible  he  ever  felt  and  manifested  the 
deepest  reverence.  It  was  to  him  emphatically  the 
very  voice  of  the  living  God,  the  supreme  standard 
of  faith  and  manners.  He  recognized  no  other  au- 
thority that  could  be  compared  with  this,  deeming, 
it  one  to  which  enlightened  reason  and  true  science 
would  implicitly  bow.  For  many  years  he  preached 
its  precious  truths  with  an  ever-growing  delight  in 
them,  and  in  the  work  of  making  them  known  to 
others. 

Dr.  McCarrell  died  at  his  home  in  Newburgh, 
March  28,  1864.  He  had  been  able  to  preach  in 
his  own  pulpit,  until  within  three  weeks  of  his  de- 
cease. He  was  mercifully  spared  the  endurance  of 
acute  physical  pain  during  his  last  illness.  His  men- 
tal strength  was  unabated,  and  at  last  he  peacefully 
fell,  asleep  in  the  Lord,  in  the  68th  year  of  his  age. 

The  funeral  took  place,  on  Friday,  April  ist. 
The  services  at  the  house  were  conducted  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Brown,  of  St.  George's  Episcopal  Church, 
(the  neighbor  and  friend  of  the  deceased  for  many 
years),  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Krebs,  of  New  York.     The 


INTRODUCTORY. 


services  in  the  church  were  conducted  by  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Kimball  of  Fishkill,  Rev.  Alexander  Jace 
of  Newburgh,  Rev.  H.  Mandeville  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  of  Newburgh,  Rev.  Dr.  Snodgrass  (a 
classmate  in  college),  and  Rev.  Dr.  Forsyth  of 
Newburgh. 

It  ought  also  to  be  mentioned  as  a  fact  worthy 
of  note  that,  among  those  who  followed  the  body 
of  Dr.  McCarrell  to  the  grave,  was  Father  Reilly, 
the  Roman  Catholic  priest,  a  young  man  of  rare 
intelligence.  He  asked  for  himself  the  privilege 
of  walking  in  procession  with  the  other  clergy  of 
the  town.  He  wished  to  show  this  mark  of  respect 
for  one  with  whom  in  life  he  had  held  pleasant 
intercourse,  and  with  whom  he  had  often  engaged 
in  argument  concerning  the  great  problems  of  life. 


The  following  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  late 
Dr.  McCarrell  was  written  by  Rev.  Alexander  B. 
Jace,  who  spent  one  year  in  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Newburgh  (having  received  his  previous 
education  in  Scotland) : 

Another  great  and  good  man,  abiit  ad  plureSy 
has  gone  over  to  the  majority  and  joined  the  na- 
tions of  the  dead.  Now  that  the  funeral  is  over, 
perhaps  you  will  suffer  me  to  bring  one  stone  and 
lay  it  by  his  grave,  leaving  other  hands  to  polish  it 
and  put  it  in  its  rightful  place. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


When  I  first  knew  the  doctor  it  was  when  the 
fruit  of  all  that  he  had  learned,  and  fashioned,  and 
felt,  was  ripening  in  the  light  of  immortality,  and 
God's  own  hand  was  opening  to  receive  it.  At  that 
time  I  was  waiting  on  his  instructions  at  the  Sem- 
nary,  and  I  speak  not  only  for  myself,  but  for  my 
fellow-students,  when  I  thankfully  acknowledge  how 
m.uch  our  spiritual  life  was  deepened  by  our  inter- 
course with  him.  For  the  present,  in  order  to  con- 
dense my  remarks,  I  shall  speak  of  him  as  a 
preacher,  a  professor,  and  a  Christian. 

For  several  years  previous  to  my  acquaintance 
v/ith  him,  his  style  of  preaching  had  somewhat 
altered.  He  had  left  the  more  recondite  themes  to 
which  his  researches,  as  a  professor,  had  conducted 
him,  and  confined  himself  more  particularly  to  the 
exposition  of  those  grand  spiritual  truths  which 
were  his  strength  and  joy,  and  just  in  proportion  as 
he  drew  less  from  the  material  of  his  studies,  and 
more  from  the  spirit  of  faith  by  which  he  was  sus- 
tained, he  spoke  with  greater  unction  and  directness. 
As  I  recall  the  hallowed  impression  of  these  Sab- 
bath services  (the  memory  of  which  yet  lingers  with 
me),  I  would  briefly  state  some  of  the  causes  of  that 
solemn  effect  which  his  discourses  would  produce. 

First  of  all,  there  was  a  wonderful  individuality 
about  his  style  of  preaching, — so  much  so,  that  when 
his  sermons  were  given  to  the  world,  you  could 
always  tell  the  author  without  looking  at  the  title- 
page. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


This  was  not  in  consequence  of  any  oft-used 
illustrations,  any  sudden  sweep  of  sentences,  any  of 
that  epigrammatic  verbiage,  or  misplacement  of 
words,  or  tricks  or  feats  of  language,  for  which 
some  preachers  are  distinguished.  What  chiefly 
struck  the  hearer  was  his  extraordinary  command  of 
Scripture,  and  the  affluence  of  similitude  which  he 
gathered  from  this  source.  Sentence  after  sentence 
closely  interlaced  with  scriptural  phraseology  would 
fall  from  his  lips,  clear  as  crystal,  revealing  his 
thoughts  with  distinctness,  and  riveting  the  atten- 
tion of  his  hearers  by  their  purity  and  energy.  You 
can  readily  imagine  that  this  was  peculiarly  at- 
tractive to  those  whose  hearts  were  imbued  with 
religious  feeling,  and  whose  study  of  the  Bible  had 
begun  in  the  simplicity  of  childhood,  when  it  was 
felt  to  be  indeed  divine.  And  when  it  was  con- 
sidered that  the  work  was  done  so  easily,  so  freely, 
and  so  naturally,  it  left  a  profound  impression  of 
his  power. 

In  the  pulpit  the  doctor's  manner  was  singularly 
quiet.  One  finger  of  his  right  hand  occasionally 
extended,  and  moving  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  suc- 
cessive sentences,  was  almost  the  only  action  in 
which  he  indulged.  Neither  did  his  voice  rise  and 
swell  in  deep  passionate  excitement.  Not  that  his 
preaching  was  void  of  feeling,  but  his  feeling  sel- 
dom, if  ever,  grew  to  the  vehemence  of  passion. 
Still,  although  his  manner  was  so  quiet,  his  power 
over   his   audience   was   great.      The  tones  of    his 


8  IN  TROD  UCTOR  V. 

voice,  the  changing  expressions  of  his  face,  the  bal- 
lad-like simplicity  of  his  language,  all  showed  the 
intense  reality  of  his  feelings,  and  hence,  very  readily 
communicated  them  to  others.  If  he  wanted  the 
stern  and  stormy  temper  of  the  "  deinotes,''  which  is 
supposed  to  be  essential  to  the  orator,  there  was  a 
spell  in  the  quietness  of  his  manner  which  affected 
the  soul  like  the  dews  of  the  morning,  or  the  tem- 
pered light  of  day. 

Those  who  have  listened  to  his  remarks  in  the 
"  Union  Prayer  Meetings  "  will  remember  the  pure 
and  seraphic  expression  of  his  countenance  when  it 
was  lit  with  the  ecstacy  of  holy  feeling,  and  which 
awed  by  its  unearthly  beauty,  as  well  as  the  marked 
solemnity  of  his  manner  when  he  repeated  such 
words  as  these,  "  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of 
God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be, 
but  we  know  that  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall 
be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is." 

In  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  professor,  the 
doctor  was  chiefly  remarkable  for  completeness  and 
conscientious  thoroughness  in  all  he  undertook. 
However  much  the  members  of  the  class  might  fail, 
the  doctor  could  always  be  depended  on,  and  when 
the  clock  struck  the  hour  for  recitation,  they  could 
look  for  him  with  a  confidence  which  I  never  re- 
member to  have  seen  disappointed.  In  all  that  he 
did  he  seemed  to  be  impressed  with  the  profoundest 
sense  of  his  responsibility,  a  feeling  which  grew 
deeper  and  deeper  as  he  advanced  in  life.     Of  no 


INTRODUCTORY, 


man  could  it  ever  be  more  truly  said,  that  whatever 
his  hand  found  to  do  he  did  it  with  his  might,  did  it 
heartily,  as  unto  the  Lord.  In  his  intercourse  with 
the  students  there  was  always  an  utter  want  of  dis- 
play, a  noble  incapacity  of  guile,  compelling  him  to 
seem  what  he  was.  Honesty  and  integrity  were  the 
habits  of  his  soul,  and  one  might  say  of  his  body 
too.  To  see  and  hear  him  in  the  class-room,  to  see 
his  look,  and  hear  his  voice,  expounding  a  point  of 
faith,  made  you  feel  that  he  was  one  that  could  not 
but  show  what  was  in  him,  and  speak  out  what  was 
on  his  mind. 

There  might  be  too  much  of  this  at  times  for 
strangers.  To  them  he  might  frequently  appear 
firm  to  obstinacy,  but  no  one  could  doubt  his  truth- 
fulness ;  or  distrust,  I  say  not  his  word,  but  his  very 
aspect  and  gesture,  and  the  glance  of  his  eye.  The 
doctor  was  pre-eminently  true,  unmistakably,  un- 
variably,  fearlessly  true,  and  he  could  well  afford  to 
be  so,  for  his  nature  was  as  gentle  as  it  was  gen- 
uine. 

It  would  be  a  pleasing  task  in  this  connection  to 
present  a  "  cateiia  "  of  his  noble  sentiments,  a  har- 
vest of  his  genial  touches,  a  list  of  his  rememberahle 
sayings,  and  no  less  pleasing  to  descant  on  his  won- 
derful kindness  and  generosity  to  the  students. 
How  willing  he  was  to  give  to  them  the  stores  of 
information,  stores  not  shut  up  in  note-books,  but 
lodged  in  his  brain  !  Let  it  suffice  that  no  one  who 
knew  him  as  a  professor  could  choose  but  love  him, 


INTRODUCTORY. 


while  his  reciprocity  of  the  affection  that  they  bore 
him  was  like  the  sunshine  and  the  showers  of 
Heaven.  Take  him  all  in  all,  I  never  knew  a  man 
so  thoroughly  delightful.  Others  may  have  more 
of  this,  or  more  of  that,  but  there  was  a  symmetry, 
a  compactness,  a  sweetness,  a  true  delightfulness 
about  him,  I  remember  in  no  one  else. 

His  private  character  I  can  hardly  venture  to  por- 
tray. If  I  were  to  do  so,  I  might  be  charged  with 
presenting  an  ideal,  not  a  real  character. 

So,  at  any  rate,  I  would  have  judged  the  Doctor's 
character  had  I  merely  met  with  it  in  a  description, 
and  not  enjoyed  the  felicity  of  knowing  it.  In  all 
his  familiar  intercourse  he  was  as  simple  as  a  child, 
and  when  engaged  in  conversation  there  was  a  7iaive 
spontaneity  and  richness  in  his  turns  of  thought 
which  was  exceedingly  refreshing.  In  his  speech 
there  was  no  satire,  because  in  his  nature  there  was 
no  bitterness.  Humor,  quaint,  fantastic,  happy 
humor,  like  Paul  Richter's,  only  more  elegant,  over- 
flowed his  table-talk  and  imparted  to  it  the  richest 
flavor.  Yet  over  all  his  speech  and  manner  there 
breathed  a  sacred  tenderness,  which  flowed  not  from 
any  earthly  source,  but  was  the  fragrance  of  a 
heavenly  spirit.  His  child-like  faith  imparted  a 
secret  charm  to  his  daily  life.  His  nature,  so  trust- 
ful, so  affectionate,  so  given  to  meditation,  seemed 
to  be  ground  well  prepared  for  the  seed  of  God,  and 
surely  in  it  that  seed  so  grew  and  fructified  as  is 
rarely  seen  on  earth.     He  always  appeared  to  me 


IN  TROD  UC  TOR  V.  II 

like  the  "  beloved  disciple,"  whose  head  lay  confid- 
ingly on  the  breast  of  Jesus,  and  to  whom  were  re- 
vealed the  most  glorious  visions  of  the  church's 
future.  The  spiritual  insight,  the  purity  of  con- 
science, the  ecstatic  joy,  the  womanly  gentleness  of 
feeling  which  are  especially  attributed  to  that 
apostle,  were  all  of  them  characteristic  of  this  godly 
man. 

As  he  neared  the  close  of  life,  the  delights  of  re- 
ligious meditation  became  more  and  more  sweet. 
Day  by  day,  he  loved  to  bring  the  Saviour  near  him, 
and  to  live  ever  as  John  (the  beloved  disciple)  would 
have  done  with  the  assurance  that  his  dearest  Friend 
and  Brother  was  never  absent  from  him.  The  one 
religious  theme  which  engrossed  his  meditation, 
probably,  more  than  any  other,  was  the  Brotherhood 
of  Immanuel.  To  know  Him,  as  possessing  the 
power  and  wisdom  of  God,  yet  as  being  our  elder 
Brother,  was  the  joy  of  his  life.  To  grow  into  His 
likeness  was  his  single  desire.  To  be  with  Him,  as 
now  he  is  in  his  Father's  home,  was  his  abiding 
hope. 

During  the  last  few  years  the  Doctor  lost  a  daugh- 
ter, (Mrs.  Leiper)  for  whom  his  attachment  was  un- 
speakable. From  that  time  dated  an  entire  altera- 
tion in  his  manner.  Not  that  his  abiding  religious 
views  and  convictions  were  ever  altered.  But  his 
social  faculty  never  recovered  that  great  shock.  It 
was  blighted,  and  it  seemed  as  if  he  was  always  de- 
siring to  be  alone.     A  stranger  who  saw  him  for  a 


1 2  IN  TROD  UCTOR  F. 


time  full  of  cordial  talk,  pleasing  and  being  pleased, 
was  apt  to  think  how  delightful  he  must  always  be, 
and  so  he  was ;  but  then  such  hours  of  talk  were 
like  angels'  visits,  few  and  far  between.  In  him,  as 
Mr.  Carlyle  would  say,  the  "  silences "  were  most 
predominant,  and  I  think  that  every  one  must  have 
been  struck  with  this  habitual  stillness.  The  loss 
which  he  sustained  had  manifestly  overwhelmed 
him.  The  deep  and  lasting  love  he  bore  his  daugh- 
ter, the  grave  could  not  destroy.  In  the  recesses  of 
his  heart  he  carried  it  about  perpetually,  walking  in 
the  midst  of  men  like  one  weighed  down  with  sor- 
row. Every  day  and  hour  you  could  see  his  might 
was  sinking,  and  when  you  looked  into  his  face,  you 
felt  as  David  did  of  old,  when  the  Lord's  anointed 
fell. 

The  Doctor  is  now  dead,  his  body  safe  past  pain, 
his  soul  safe  past  sorrow.  In  a  glory  he  shines  past 
conceiving,  in  a  fruition  past  prayer. 

But  in  this  world  we  shall  see  his  face  no  more, 
and  how  distressing  to  think  of  that !  His  brethren 
will  miss  him  in  the  "  vineyard  of  the  Lord."  I 
leave  it  for  others  to  record  of  him,  in  terms  suitable 
to  his  worth,  a  sense  of  the  value  they  set  upon  him. 
I  leave  it  for  them,  that  generations  hereafter  may 
know  how  much  we  value  him,  who  carved  his  name 
upon  the  pillars  of  his  church,  and  who,  as  a  citizen, 
did  so  much  to  distinguish  the  town  in  which  he 
lived.  His  death  reminds  us  that  the  ministry  of 
others  is  nearly  run,  that  the  voyage  is  drawing  to 


IN  TROD  UCTOR  V.  1 3 


a  close,  that  we  may  see  the  lights  and  hear  the 
voices  that  are  sounding  on  the  other  shore  ;  and 
now  the  gray  hairs,  the  long  shadows,  the  fast  thin- 
ning band  of  compatriots,  and  many  other  things, 
are  voices  proclaiming,  "  Work  while  it  is  called  to- 
day, the  night  cometh,  when  no  man  can  work." 
The  grave  of  this  great  man  is  but  a  little  hill,  yet 
from  that  little  hill  how  small  do  the  great  affairs  of 
life  appear,  how  great  the  small. 


SERMONS   ON   BAPTISM. 


17 


I. 


"  For  John  truly  baptized  with  water,  but  ye  shall  be  baptized 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence." — Acts,  i.,  5. 

THE  truth  of  God  is  the  grand  means  of  the  re- 
generation and  sanctification  of  men.  Thus 
prays  the  Saviour — "  sanctify  them  through  thy 
truth  ;  thy  word  is  truth." 

This  is  brought  to  bear  in  various  ways  upon  the 
heart  and  life.  By  the  works  of  creation  there  is 
made  a  display  of  the  divine  power  and  Godhead. 
*'  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
firmament  showeth  his  handiwork.  All  thy  works 
praise  thee."  In  the  book  of  God  is  the  most  full 
revelation  of  all  that  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  know 
so  that  we  may  glorify  God  and  enjoy  him  forever. 
The  truth  of  the  Word  is  read  and  heard  that  it  may 
be  believed  and  obeyed.  It  is  also  confirmed  by  the 
oath  of  God,  "  for  God,  willing  to  show  unto  the 
the  heirs  of  promise  the  immutability  of  his  counsel, 
confirmed  it  by  his  oath." 

Still  further  is  the  truth  illustrated  and  confirmed 
by  signs  in  which  our  senses  are  made  handmaids  to 
faith.  The  great  and  distinguishing  truths  of  the 
everlasting  covenant  are  bodied  forth  in  striking 
analogies  addressed  to  our  senses.     These  arc  called 

19 


20  SERMONS. 


sacraments,  sensible  signs  whereby  Christ  and  the 
benefits  of  the  New  Covenant  are  represented,  sealed, 
and  applied  to  believers. 

To  this  class  of  ordinances  belonged,  under  the 
former  dispensation  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  the 
tree  of  life,  animal  sacrifices,  the  rainbow,  the  circum- 
cision, and  the  passover.  Under  the  new  dispen- 
sation of  the  same  covenant,  we  have  Baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper. 

Baptism  is  a  sign  and  seal  of  membership  in  the 
visible  Church  under  the  new  dispensation.  It  is 
the  personal  badge  of  visible  Christianity.  "  Bap- 
tism is  a  holy  ordinance  instituted  by  Christ,  wherein 
the  washing  with  water  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  doth  signify 
and  seal  our  engrafting  into  Christ,  and  partaking  of 
the  benefits  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  our  en- 
gagement to  be  the  Lord's." 

Let  us  consider — first,  its  form  ;  secondly,  its 
signification  ;  thirdly,  its  subjects  ;  and  fourthly,  its 
uses. 

Firstly.  Under  the  form  may  be  comprehended 
the  author,  the  administrator,  the  element,  the 
actions,  and  the  formula. 

The  author  of  this  institution  is  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  It  is  recorded  in  the  commission  given  to 
the  first  ministers  of  the  gospel,  ''  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature." — 
Mark  xvi.  15.  "  Make  disciples  of  all  nations,  bap- 
tizing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 


BAPTISM. 


Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  teaching  them  to  ob- 
serve all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you  ; 
and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world," — Matt,  xxviii.,  19,  20. 

The  administrator  of  Baptism  is  an  ordained  min- 
ister of  the  gospel,  not  a  woman  or  any  other  private 
person.  This  is  clear  from  the  words  of  the  com- 
mission itself. 

The  element  to  be  used  is  water.  '*  Can  any  man 
forbid  water  that  these  should  not  be  baptized,  which 
have  received  the  Holy  Ghost  as  well  as  we." — Acts 
X.,  47.  "  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water." — Matt, 
iii.,  1 1.  The  Quakers,  or  Friends,  by  rejecting  water 
reject  the  whole  ordinance.  Romanists  by  adding 
oil  and  spittle  corrupt  it. 

The  actions  are  the  administration  and  reception 
of  the  element  of  water  by  pouring  or  sprinkling  by 
the  minister  officiating,  and  its  reception  by  the  per- 
son baptized. 

The  question  relating  to  the  form  of  baptism  is 
between  us  and  our  Baptist  friends.  They  do  not 
own  us  as  brethren,  because  they  do  not  tliink  we 
are  baptized,  and  therefore  we  are  not  in  the  visible 
Church  of  God  at  all.  The  question  is  whether  the 
element  of  water  is  applied  to  the  subject  by  pouring 
or  sprinkling,  or  the  subject  put  into  or  under  it. 
We  assert  the  former,  they  the  latter. 

For  our  mode  we  claim  the  authority  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles,  and  the  usages  of  the  languages  of  in- 
spiration corroborated  by  the  Septuagint,  (the  Greek 


2  2  SERMONS. 


translation  of  the  Old  Testament),  by  writers  in  the 
Apocrypha,  by  other  writers,  Christian  and  pagan, 
and  by  the  history  of  the  foundation  of  the  Christian 
Church. 

The  language  of  the  text.  Acts  i.,  5,  is  itself  suffi- 
cient to  settle  this  question  with  all  who  are  willing 
to  be  taught  by  the  highest  authority  in  the  universe, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  ''  For  John  truly  baptized 
with  water  J  but  ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  not  many  days  hence."  How  were  they 
baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  By  the  Holy  Ghost 
"  coming  upoti  theni^  kneX^ovroi  rov  ayiov  IIvsv- 
jAocro?  iq^  vjda?,  i.  8.  "  This  is  that  which  was 
spoken  by  the  prophet  Joel  [ii.,  28,  32]  ;  and  it  shall 
come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  saith  God,  I  will  pour 
out  of  my  spirit  upon  all  fleshy  eux^cS)  ano  rov  Ttvev- 
jxaroi  fxov  ini  naaav  aapna. — Acts  ii.,  17;  and 
again,  *'  On  my  servants  and  my  handmaids  will  I 
pour  out  of  my  spirit,"  ii.  18. 

*  Therefore  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted, 
and  having  received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  he  hath  shed  forth  this  which  ye  now 
see  and  hear — f^fjee  tovto^  ii.,  33.  Jesus  then 
baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  by  pouring  out,  by 
shedding  upon  his  servants  the  gifts  and  graces  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Baptism  is  then  rightly  performed 
by  pouring. 

The  same  language  is  employed  by  Luke  in  the 
loth  chapter,  45  th  verse  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles: 
**  Upon  the  Gentiles  also  was  poured  out  the  gift  of 


BAPTISM.  23 


the  Holy  Ghost "  ;  ^ni  roc  e^vt]  7  daopsa  rod  ayiov 
Ilvsv/xaro?  iKuaxvtai. 

John  the  Baptist  uses  the  same  language  in  com- 
paring his  baptism  with  that  of  his  divine  Master : 

"  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water  unto  repentance  : 
but  he  that  cometh  after  me  is  mighter  than  I,  whose 
shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  bear  :  he  shall  baptize  you 
with  the  Holy  Ghost. — Matt,  iii.,  11  :  and  again 
Mark  i.,  8,  and  Luke  iii.,  16. 

It  was  predicted  respecting  the  Messiah,  "  So 
shall  he  sprinkle  many  nations  ;  "  P."*?!  ^""^  ^T-  ^5 
Isaiah  Iii.,  15.  He  sprinkles  by  the  application  of 
his  blood  for  the  pardon  of  sin.  His  blood  is  there- 
fore called  '*  the  blood  of  sprinkling."  "  Ye  are  come 
to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,"  aifxati  pavriGfxov^ 
which  speaketh  better  things  than  that  of  Abel ; 
Heb.  xii.,  24. 

He  sprinkles  with  his  spirit.  "  Then  I  will  sprinkle 
clean  water  upon  you  ;  DniiiD  D;p  D9  x??  ''^PI'P  ^"^  y^ 
shall  be  clean ;  from  all  your  filthiness,  and  from  all 
your  idols,  will  I  cleanse  you.  A  new  heart  also 
will  I  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within 
you  ;  and  I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of 
your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  an  heart  of  flesh. 
And  I  will  put  my  spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you 
to  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  my  judg- 
ments, and  do   them." — Ezekiel  xxxvi.,  25,  27. 

Paul  ascribes  this  to  Jesus :  "  Not  by  works  of 
righteousness  which  we  have  done,  but  according  to 
his  mercy  he  saved  us,  with  the  washing  of  regen- 


24  SERMONS. 


eratlon  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  he 
shed  071  us  abundantly  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Saviour."  Sia  Xovrpoi)  TtaXiayeveffia^^  nai  ava- 
xaivc^aeoo?  Ilvsv/xaro?  ayiov  ov  s^€xs£y  i(f^  7]fj.a? 
TrXovaiGD^,  did^Irfaov  Xpiarov  rov  (jGorr/po<5  rjjxc^v. 
— Titus  iii.,  5,  6. 

He  sprinkles  also  with  the  water  of  baptism  when 
his  ministers  and  ambassadors  administer  this  ordi- 
nance. They  act  for  him,  and  their  act  is  ac- 
counted his.  "  When  therefore  the  Lord  knew  that 
the  Pharisees  heard  that  Jesus  made  and  baptized 
more  disciples  than  John,  though  Jesus  baptized 
not,  ipanri^evy  but  his  disciples." — John  iv.,  I,  2. 
He  sprinkles  many  nations  meritoriously  by  his 
blood  that  purges  away  our  guilt,  efficaciously  by 
his  spirit  that  regenerates  and  sanctifies  the  soul, 
and  sacramentally  by  his  ministering  servants  when 
they  baptize  with  water  in  his  name  and  as  his  rep- 
resentatives in  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  preaching 
the  gospel,  with  which  the  ordinance  is  connected. 
*'  Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though 
God  did  beseech  you,  by  us,  we  pray  you,  in  Christ's 
stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God." 

The  apostle  Paul  also  refers  to  the  baptism  of  the 
Jewish  law,  "  the  doctrine  of  baptisms,"  §anri- 
GfjLwv  didaxv^,  Heb.  vi.,  2  ;  many  of  which  were  by 
sprinkling. — Num.  xix.,  13.  '*  Whosoever  toucheth 
the  dead  body  of  any  man  that  is  dead,  and  puri- 
fieth  not  himself,  defileth  the  tabernacle  of  the 
Lord,  and  that  soul  shall  be  cut   off  from  the  Lord, 


BAPTISM.  25 


because  the  water  of  «ieparation  was  not  spi'inkled 
upon  him,"  vS;;  pit  5^S  The  son  of  Sirach,  refer- 
ring to  this  sprinkling,  calls  it  baptism. — Ecclesias- 
ticus,  xxxiv.,  30.  fiaTtri^ofxsvoi  ano  venpov  nai 
TtaXiv  aTtTopisvo?  avrov  ri  oocpiXriaev  rep  Xovrpcp 
avrov.  "  He  that  washeth  himself  after  touching 
a  dead  body,  if  he  touch  it  again  what  availeth  his 
washing."  The  Xovrp(p  is  the  same  word  used  by- 
Paul  (Titus  iii.,  5),  ''  the  washing  of  regeneration 
and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  the  washing,  the 
baptism,  in  relation  both  to  the  body  and  the  soul, 
was  by  sprinkling. 

This  is  still  further  evident  from  a  direct  com- 
parison of  those  things  by  the  same  apostle  (Heb. 
ix.,  13,  14. — "  For  if  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats, 
and  the  ashes  of  an  heifer,  sprinkling  the  unclean, 
pavriB,ovaa  rov?  KejioivGDjLievov?^  sanctifieth  to 
the  purifying  of  the  flesh,  how  much  more  shall  the 
blood  of  Christ,  who  through  the  Eternal  Spirit 
offered  himself  without  spot  unto  God,  purge  your 
conscience  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God." 
fSanrGD,  from  which  panri^oo  is  derived,  is  used 
by  inspired  writers  for  ''  sprinkle  "  (Isaiah  Ixiii.,  3). — 
"■  I  have  trodden  the  wine-press  alone,  and  of  the 
people  there  was  none  with  me,  and  I  will  tread 
them  in  mine  anger,  and  trample  them  in  my  fury, 
and  their  blood  shall  be  sprinkled  upon  my  gar- 
ments, and  I  will  stain  all  my  raiment."  ''^33  hv 
DnV3  ri  The  very  same  image  is  employed  in 
the  Book  of  Revelation  to  describe  the  triumphant 


26  SERMONS. 


progress  of  the  conquering  Messiah  (Rev.  xix.,  13). 
— "  And  he  was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in 
blood,"  l3e/3a^^eyov  ai^xari,  where  the  word  ren- 
dered dipped  evidently  means  sprinkled  from  the 
bodies  of  his  vanquished  foes,  over  whom  he  passes 
in  triumph. 

The  Septuagint  uses  this  word  when  sprinkling 
is  evidently  the  meaning:  "His  body  was  wet, 
ifiaqyri,  from  the  dew  of  heaven." — Dan.  iv.,  32. 

The  blood  of  the  paschal  \di.mhwdiS  sprinkled  upon 
the  lintels  and  door-posts  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  Christ  oicr  passover  was  sacrificed  for  us.  Ex- 
ternal usage  also  corroborates  the  views  which  have 
been  given  respecting  the  meaning  of  the  words 
fianroD  and  paTtri^GD.  Judith  is  said  to  have 
washed  herself  near  a  fountain  of  water  in  the 
camp  :  eftaTtri^sro  iv  rPj  Ttape/x/SoXrj  ini  rrj^  7tr]yrfi 
rov  vdaro?. — Judith  xii.,  7.  A  modest  woman 
would  not  attempt  to  bathe  her  whole  body  in  the 
camp,  being  only  at  or  near,  not  in  the  fountain, 
and  who  ever  is  so  reckless  as  to  bathe  in  a 
fountain  ? 

Origen,  the  most  learned  of  the  ancient  fathers, 
commenting  on  the  baptism  of  John,  quotes 
I.  Kings,  xviii.,  33,  and  uses  the  word  jSaTtri^co  four 
times,  two  in  describing  \,h.Q  pouring  out  of  the  wa- 
ter upon  the  sacrifice  and  twice  in  application  to 
the  baptism  of  John. 

Homer,  in  his  poem  describing  the  battle  of  the 
frogs   and   mice,  represents  the  lake  as  ijSanreTOD, 


BAPTISM.  27 


Sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  frogs,  certainly  not 
immersed. 

The  practice  of  the  apostles  still  further  confirms 
the  views  already  presented  in  the  usage  of  the 
language  by  writers  inspired  and  uninspired. 

Wherever  they  went  and  their  message  was  re- 
ceived in  faith,  they  baptized  in  houses,  by  the  road- 
side, in  jail,  or  wherever  they  might  be ;  Lydia 
and  the  jailer  are  baptized  forthwith,  and  three 
thousand  in  one  day  after  the  sermon  of  Peter  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost.  Paul  himself,  rising  up,  was 
baptized,  avaarai  iftaTttiG^r}. — Acts  ix.,  18;  xxii., 
16,  avaffta?  fiaTtrWai. 

The  nature  of  the  ordinance  being  a  symbolical 
action  requires  the  practice  of  pouring  or  sprinkling. 
As  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  a  square  inch  of  bread 
and  a  spoonful  of  wine  are  sufificient  to  answer  the 
purpose  of  the  institution,  and  better  than  a  full 
meal,  so  a  little  water  in  baptism  illustrates  the 
inward  purifying  better  than  covering  the  whole 
person  in  water. 

This  principle  our  Lord  has  explained  in  washing 
the  disciples'  feet :  ''  Peter  saith  unto  him,  Thou 
shalt  never  wash  my  feet.  Jesus  answered  him. 
If  I  wash  thee  not  thou  hast  no  part  with  me. 
Simon  Peter  saith  unto  him.  Lord,  not  my  feet 
only  but  also  my  hands  and  my  head.  Jesus 
saith  to  him.  He  that  is  washed  needeth  not  save 
to  wash  his  feet,  but  is  clean,  every  whit." — John 
xiii.,  8,  10. 


28  SERMONS. 


Let  us  examine  the  position  taken  on  the  other 
side  of  this  question. 

The  name  by  which  they  claim  to  be  known,  the 
Baptists,  is  yielded  to  them  by  courtesy,  not  be- 
cause it  is  admitted  by  other  denominations  that 
they  themselves  are  not  baptized,  any  more  than  it 
is  admitted  in  calling  those  who  deny  the  trinity 
Unitarians,  that  they  themselves  do  not  believe  in 
the  unity  of  God,  or  calling  the  Church  of  Rome 
Catholics,  that  they  themselves  do  not  belong  to 
the  Church  universal.  They  are  properly  called 
Anabaptists,  as  they  were  at  first  in  the  days  of 
Luther,  and  Anti-Paidobaptists  because  they  baptize 
agai72  those  who  had  been  baptized  by  other  de- 
nominations, and  because  they  deny  the  propriety 
of  infant  baptism.  The  question  with  them  is  made 
of  vital  importance,  for  they  teach  that  none  are  in 
the  Church  of  God  who  are  not  immersed  by  them. 
It  is  proper  then  that  those  who  do  not  think  with 
them  should  give  a  reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in 
them,  and  as  the  appeal  has  been  taken  to  the  orig- 
inals by  our  opponents  on  the  subject,  it  is  is  neces- 
sary that  they  be  met  on  that  ground. 

They  claim  that  total  immersion  is  the  only 
proper  baptism,  and  all  who  are  not  immersed  are 
therefore  among  the  uncircumcised  and  the  un- 
clean. Not  being  in  the  kingdom  of  God  they  must 
therefore  belong  to  the  kingdom  of  Satan,  for  there 
is  no  neutral  ground. 

They  occupy  the  place  of  the  Judaizing  teachers 


BAPTISM.  29 


in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  who  insisted  that  unless 
men  were  circumcised,  and  kept  the  law  of  Moses, 
they  could  not  be  saved. 

And  what  are  the  arguments  by  which  our  im- 
mersed friends  sustain  their  position  ? 

They  say  that  the  word  fianri^oD  means,  to  im- 
merse, and  nothing  else;  and  fz?  means,  into,  and, 
under;  and  fV,  from  under.  They  quote  writers  on 
our  side  who  admit  that  the  word  for  baptism  some- 
times means  to  immerse,  and  hence  claim  that  the 
question  is  given  up.  But  the  same  men  thought 
otherwise,  and  contended  for  the  propriety  of  bap- 
tism by  sprinkling  and  pouring.  These  authorities 
then  are  against  them. — As  are  also  the  translators 
of  the  Bible  into  our  language,  for  instead  of  render- 
ing PanriB,0D  always  by, immerse,  they  never  render 
it  so  at  all.  Indeed,  the  word  immerse,  expressing  a 
doctrine  without  which  many  say  there  can  be  no 
visible  church,  is  not  found  in  the  English  Bible. 
At  least,  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  it. 

Moreover  Schleusner,  the  great  lexicographer  of 
the  Greek  Testament,  declares  that  it  is  never  read' 
in  that  sense  in  the  New  Testament :  "  In  hac  ant  em 
significatione  minquam  in  N.  T...,  legittir.''  He  adds,, 
indeed,  that  it  is  used  in  that  sense  frequently  in 
Greek  writers  :  "  sed  eo  freqnentius  in  scriptt.gr,  legi- 
tur^  And  the  only  example  which  he  gives  will 
not  help  our  Baptist  friends  much,  for  there  it  means 
to  be  drowned.  "  Diod.  Sic.  i.  c.  36  ;  De  Nilo  exun- 
dante  rc^v  ;^6p(rar/oj'   ^rjpic^v  ra   noWd   vno    tov 


30  SERMONS, 


TtorajLiou  TtepiXrjcp^kvTa  Siacp^eiperat  ^aTtri^o- 
jx€va.  Multa  terrestrium  anhnaliuni  a  Jltimine 
deprehensa  siibmersione  periuiit.'' — (Many  land  ani- 
mals, overtaken  by  the  river  and  submerged  in  it, 
perished.)  The  word  never  expresses  their  prac- 
tice oi  immersion  and  emersion  at  the  same  time. 

If  the  word  means,  as  they  insist,  total  immersion, 
and  nothing  else,  then  when  they  have  put  their  can- 
didates under  the  water,  they  have  nothing  further 
to  do — they  should  leave  them  there — what  warrant 
have  they  to  undo  the  work  of  immersion  ? 

No  one  is  ever  represented  as  immersed  in  the 
■Holy  Ghost,  or  in  the  blood  of  Christ.  If  the  sign 
then  must  illustrate  and  confirm  the  thing  signified, 
•the  element  must  be  applied  by  sprinkling  or  pour- 
ing, as  has  been  shown,  and  not  by  immersion. 

So  far  are  even  the  external  writers  from  teaching 
that  the  word  for  baptism  means  immersion,  and 
nothing  else,  that  when  they  mean  immersion  they 
use  other  words  in  distinction  from  f3a7tri^0D. 

Dr.  Wall  instances  a  case  from  Mr.  Sydenham,  as 
delivered  by  the  oracle  {dffKO?  /SaTtri^Godwai  deroi 
ovBsfiii  sari)  in  which  instance  if  Svvai  signifies 
to  plunge  wholly  under  water,  as  it  certainly  does, 
then  panri^oo  must  mean  something  less  than  total 
immersion.  "  Baptize  him  as  a  bottle,  but  it  is  not 
lawful  to  plunge  him  wholly  under  water." 

The  same  distinction  is  made  in  another  instance 
from  Shrivellii's  and  Robinson's  lexicons,  but  then 
Panrw  is  used  instead  of  ^anri^oo.     Mark  vii.,  1-5, 


BAPTISM.  31 


shows  that  men  were  baptized  when  only  their 
hands  were  washed,  and  this  was  often  done  by 
pouring  water  on  them,  and  tables  or  couches  could 
not  be  immersed  when  they  were  baptized.  The 
word  for  submerging  is  ^voo  dwoo,  and  xaradvoi)* 
In  these  senses  these  texts  are  used  by  the  Sep- 
tuagint. — Ex.  xv.,  5  :  ^^  TTovrcj  EKocXvipev  avrovS. 
Karidvaav  si?  /SvBov  gj^€i  XiBo?.'^ — He  covereth 
them  with  the  sea,  they  went  down  into  the  deep 
as  a  stone; — and  also  xv.  10:  '^  enaXvipev  avrovS 
BaXaaaa.  edvffav  c^^ei  fxoXifto?  iv  vdari  acpodpcp.^^ 
— The  sea  covered  them,  they  sank  like  lead  in  the 
mighty  waters. 

The  immersion  scheme  represents  the  Saviour 
making  a  promise  which  he  did  not  fulfill.  It 
makes  him  say — "  ye  shall  be  immersed  in  the  Holy 
Ghost  not  many  days  hence,"  whereas  the  Holy 
Ghost  came  on  them,  was  poured  out  on  them^  and 
abode  tip07i  them.  I  do  not  say  that  our  good 
brethren  mean  to  blaspheme  the  Son  of  God,  but 
their  argument,  if  true,  would  go  to  prove  him  a 
false  prophet.  But  let  God  be  true,  but  every  man 
a  liar. 

They  rely  on  the  particles  tzV,  fV,  into  and  in,  and 
iiiy  from  or  out  of,  which  they  say  must  mean  going 
under  the  water.  Now  fz?  often  means  simply  to  a 
place  : — "  Jesus  cometh  to  the  sepulchre,  ezV  ro 
f-ivrffXEiov,  it  was  a  cave,  and  a  stone  was  laid  upon 
it." — John  xi.,  38.  Jesus  did  not  enter  the  cave. 
Also  John  XX.,  3,  4,  5  :    They  came  to  the  sepul- 


32  SERMONS. 


chre,  fzV  ro  /j-vrj/ieiov^  "  but  did  not  enter."  The  pro- 
per phrase  for  entering  into  is  eiffspxojLiai  si?  (Matt. 
XV.,  1 1)  :  "  Not  that  which  entereth  into  the  mouth 
defileth  the  man." 

€K  often  means  simply  from,  not  out  of  (John  vi., 
23):  *'  then  came  vessels  from  Tiberias." 

"  Jesus  came  up  from  the  water  ;  ajto  rov  v6ar6?: 
the  particle  does  not  mean,  from  out  of,  or  from 
under.  "  Depart  from  me  ";  an^  ejaov  :  Matt, 
vii.,  23  ;  XXV.,  41. 

iv  often  signifies  at  or  to  a  place  ;  Rom.  viii.,  34  : 
"  Who  is  at  the  right  hand  of  God  "  ;  er  de^ia  rov 
Oeov, 

The  people  of  Jerusalem  and  Judea,  and  all  the 
country  round  about  Jordan,  were  baptized  of 
John  ";  €v  rep  ^lopSavtj.  This  cannot  mean  standing 
in  or  being  immersed  in  the  waters  of  Jordan,  for 
another  evangelist,  John,  says  :  "  These  things  were 
done  in  Bethabara,  beyond  Jordan,  where  John 
was  baptizing."  He  could  not  baptize  indifferently 
at  either  place. 

John  was  baptising  in  Enon,  ev  Aivor,  near  to 
Salem,  because  there  was  much  water  there  ;  vdara 
TtoWa,  many  waters. — John  iii.,  23.  The  name 
means  springs  or  fountains,  because  well  supplied 
with  fountains  of  water.  It  is  not  said  that  John 
baptized  in  these  waters^  but  in  the  town.  If  it  had 
been  the  intention  to  aid  the  Baptist  scheme,  he 
would  have  told  us  the  people  were  immersed  in 
these  fountains,  but  he  does  no  such  thing.     The 


BAPTISM.  33 

multitudes  that  attended  John's  ministry  required  a 
plentiful  supply  of  sweet  and  fresh  water  from  the 
springs,  and  therefore  John  selected  that  place  for 
the  exercise  of  his  ministry.  Those  denominations 
that  have  camp-meetings  are  careful  to  select  places 
where  the  multitude  can  have  plenty  of  water  for 
drinking,  and  culinary  and  other  necessary  pur- 
poses. 

The  case  of  Philip  and  the  eunuch  (Acts  viii.,  38, 
39)  is  relied  upon  to  prove  immersion.  The  whole 
force  of  the  argument  is  derived  from  the  meaning 
attached  to  the  expressions  going  down  into^  and  com- 
ing up  out  of  the  water.  Those  expressions  either 
prove  immersion,  or  they  do  not.  If  they  do  not, 
the  witness  may  be  dismissed  ;  if  they  do,  then  as 
these  expressions  are  applied  in  common  to  Philip 
and  the  eunuch,  both  were  immersed.  The  minis- 
ter then  must  go  under  the  water  himself  every  time 
that  he  immerses  another. 

On  the  day  of  Pentecost,  Peter  begins  his  sermon 
at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  After  the  services 
and  conversation  with  the  hearers,  three  thousand 
are  baptized  that  same  day.  The  narrative  is  in- 
consistent with  the  supposition  that  three  thousand 
were  immersed  that  day.  Here  are  miracles  sup- 
posed about  which  the  inspired  historian  is  strangely 
silent.  Suitable  baptistries  or  places  for  immersing 
this  great  multitude  are  suddenly  provided  of  which 
there  is  no  record  nor  trace  ; — a  sufficient  supply  of 
suitable  raiment  for  their  covering  is  promptly  fur- 


34  SERMONS. 


nished,  of  which  no  one  takes  any  notice  whether  it 
comes  from  the  hands  of  men  or  angels,  and  then,  in 
the  fragment  of  the  day  that  remains,  each  of  the 
twelve,  if  they  are  all  engaged,  must  converse  with 
and  immerse  two  hundred  and  fifty  persons — less 
than  two  minutes  for  each  person,  without  leaving 
the  apostles  or  the  converts  a  moment  for  refresh- 
ment or  rest  until  the  going  down  of  the  sun. 

The  jailer  and  his  family  were  baptized  in  the 
prison  at  midnight,  and  Lydia  and  her  family  in  her 
house,  and  not  a  word  said  about  the  indispensable 
ceremony  of  putting  them  under  the  water.  All 
these  things  must  be  believed  by  those  who  require 
an  explicit  warrant  for  every  thing  in  a  positive  in- 
stitution. 

Rom.  vi.,  and  Col.  ii.,  are  relied  upon  to  sustain 
the  scheme  of  immersion. 

These  passages  relate  to  the  meaning  of  baptism, 
not  its  form.  They  describe  the  union  with  Christ  and 
communion  with  him  in  his  graces,  sufferings,  obedi- 
ence, and  death,  resurrection  and  glory,  to  which  be- 
lievers in  him  are  entitled  in  the  covenant  of  grace, 
of  which  baptism  is  to  them  the  sign  and  the  seal. 

If  the  form  of  baptism  is  here  referred  to,  what  is 
it  ?  Our  Baptist  friends  say  it  is  immersion^  because 
we  are  immersed  into  Christ,  and  immersed  into  his 
death,  and  buried  with  him. 

What  is  meant  by  being  immersed  into  his  death? 
If  buried  with  Christ  is  in  allusion  to  his  burial, 
there    is  nothing  in  immersion  like    Christ    being 


BAPTISM.  35 


buried  in  a  sepulcher  hewn  out  of  a  rock,  and  not 
put  into  a  grave  and  covered  with  earth  ;  and 
Christ,  dying  on  the  cross,  is  not  illustrated  by  im- 
mersion. Papists  and  Puseyites  have  the  advantage 
of  Baptists  in  this  respect,  for  they  use  the  sign  of 
the  cross  at  baptism.  What  is  said  of  this  bap- 
tism is  true  only  of  those  who  have  the  baptism 
of  the  spirit,  that  they  are  risen  with  him  by 
the  faith  of  the  operation  of  God,  who  raiseth 
him  from  the  dead  (Col.  ii.,  12)  ;  made  alive  with 
him,  forgiven  all  their  trespasses  (v.  13)  ;  and  who 
will  say  of  every  person  who  is  immersed  in  water 
that  they  are  alive  with  Christ,  and  forgiven  all 
their  trespasses  ? 

But  allowing  all  for  which  immersionists  contend, 
that  ^aTtri^oj  means  immersion  and  nothing  else, 
and  going  down,  fz?  vdoopy  means  going  under  the 
water,  and  coming  up,  sKy  from  under  the  water, 
what  is  the  scene  exhibited  in  the  baptism  of  John  ? 
The  Baptist  goes  down  under  the  water,  and  all 
Jerusalem  and  Judea,  and  the  country  round  about 
Jordon,  go  down  with  him,  and  in  some  lower  deep 
in  the  bottom  of  the  river,  he  immerses  them.  If 
John,  officiating  under  the  water,  has  some  diving 
apparatus  by  which  he  can  breathe,  are  all  Jerusa- 
lem and  Judea,  and  the  country  round  about  Jordan, 
equally  accommodated  ?  How  these  multitudes 
are  furnished  with  proper  garments  for  this  immer- 
sion, or  whether  it  was  performed  with  their  ordinary 
raiment,  or  without  any  raiment  at  all,  those  who 


36  SERxMONS. 


insist  upon  having  everything  in  a  positive  institu- 
tion explicitly  defined  do  not  inform  us. 

The  formula,  "  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the 
Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  more  literally  ei?,  into 
the  name,  etc.,  is  a  general  explanation  of  the  design 
of  the  ordinance  to  signify  and  seal  the  introduction 
of  the  person  baptized  into  a  covenant  relation  with 
the  Triune  God  as  his  Father,  Redeemer  and  Sanc- 
tifier,  and  his  covenant  obligations  to  be  devoted  to 
his  service  and  glory. 

Secondly.     The  signification  of  this  ordinance. 

The  water  illustrates  that  purifying  influence  upon 
the  soul  which  is  wrought  by  the  blood  of  Christ, 
the  blood  of  sprinkling,  in  removing  its  guilt,  its 
obligation  to  punishment,  and  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  renewing  and  sanctifying  the  soul.  "  How 
much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ,  who  through 
the  Eternal  Spirit  offered  himself  without  spot  unto 
God,  purge  your  conscience  from  dead  works  to 
serve  the  living  God." — Heb.  ix.,  14.  "  I,  indeed," 
says  John,  "  baptize  you  with  water  unto  repent- 
ance :  but  he  that  cometh  after  me  is  mightier  than 
I,  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  bear :  he  shall 
baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  fire'' — 
Matt,  iii.,  1 1. 

*'  Not  by  works  of  righteousness  which  we  have 
done,  but  according  to  his  mercy  he  saved  us,  by  the 
washing  of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  he  shed  on  ?^^  abundantly,  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Saviour." — Titus  iii.,  5,  6. 


BAPTISM.  37 


"  Can  any  forbid  zvater,  that  these  should  not  be 
baptized,  which  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost  as  well 
as  we." — Acts  x.,  47. 

As  the  water  is  the  proper  element  for  cleansing 
the  body  from  its  pollutions,  so  the  Spirit  cleanses 
the  soul  from  its  moral  defilement.  The  prophecies 
respecting  the  pouring  out  of  the  Spirit  are  fulfilled 
in  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

As  the  persons  of  men  are  purged  from  their 
moral  defilement  by  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
so  their  relations  are  purged  by  the  blood  of  atone- 
ment, the  blood  of  sprinkling,  which  speaketh  bet- 
ter things  than  the  blood  of  Abel,  which  cries  to 
God  not  for  punishment,  but  for  pardon  and  life. 
"  Repent  and  be  baptized,  every  one  of  you,  for  the 
remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  For  the  promise  is  unto  you  and  to 
your  children,  and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as 
many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call." — Acts  ii.,  38, 
39.  Baptism  is  the  sign  and  seal  both  of  remission 
of  sins  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  sanctifying  the  soul.  "  So 
shall  he  sprinkle  many  nations." — Is.  lii.,  15. 

The  act  of  sprinkling  indicates  the  personal  appli- 
cation of  the  blood  of  atonement  for  the  removal 
of  the  guilt  of  sin  and  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  for  restoring  the  image  of  God  in  knowledge, 
righteousness,  and  true  holiness  ; — "  Washed,  and 
sanctified,  and  justified,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God." 


3  8  SERMONS. 


The  formula,  "into  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of 
the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  indicates  that  by- 
baptism  is  signified  and  sealed  our  union  in  the 
covenant  of  his  grace  with  the  Mediator  of  the 
covenant,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  consequently 
our  communion  with  him  in  all  the  blessings  which 
he  hath  procured  by  his  mediation  on  our  behalf. 
We  have  fellowship,  a  common  interest  with  him  in 
his  graces,  sufferings,  obedience,  death,  resurrection, 
and  glory.  We  thus  receive  by  union  with  him 
regeneration,  justification,  adoption,  sanctification, 
"  assurance  of  God's  love,  peace  of  conscience,  joy 
in  the  Holy  Ghost,  increase  of  grace,  and  persever- 
ance therein  to  the  end.  At  death,  our  souls,  made 
perfect  in  holiness,  immediately  pass  into  glory. 
Our  bodies,  being  still  united  to  Christ,  do  rest  in 
their  graves  until  the  resurrection,  when  being  raised 
up  in  glory  we  shall  be  openly  acknowledged  and 
acquitted  in  the  day  of  judgment,  and  made  per- 
fectly blessed  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  God  to  all 
eternity."  And  being  engrafted  into  Christ,  we  are 
through  him,  the  Mediator,  united  to  the  Father 
and  the  Holy  Spirit,  consecrated  to  the  service  and 
glory  of  the  Triune  God  as  living  sacrifices,  to  be 
forever  employed  in  showing  forth  his  glory,  and  the 
Triune  God  is  united  to  us,  and  signifies  and  seals 
the  gift  of  himself  to  us — the  Father  as  our  Father, 
the  Son  as  our  Redeemer,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  as 
our  Sanctifier,  Comforter,  and  Guide.  *'Thou  hast 
made  with  me  an  everlasting  covenant,  ordered  in 


BAPTISM.  39 


all  things  and  sure ;  this  is  all  my  salvation  and  it  is 
all  my  desire."  "My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am 
his." — Song  ii.,  i6. 

The  subjects  of  this  ordinance  are  believers  and 
their  children.  "  Baptism  is  not  to  be  administered 
to  any  that  are  out  of  the  visible  church  till  they 
profess  their  faith  in  Christ  and  obedience  to  Him  ; 
but  the  infants  of  such  as  are  members  of  the  visible 
church  are  to  be  baptized." 

The  necessity  of  faith  and  repentance  as  prere- 
quisites to  baptism,  in  the  case  of  adults,  is  a  part 
of  our  system.  ''  If  thou  believest  with  all  thine 
heart,  thou  mayest,"  says  Philip  to  the  eunuch. 
''  Repent  and  be  baptized,"  says  Peter.  "  He  that 
believes  and  is  baptized,"  says  our  Divine  Master. 


II. 


"  Then  Peter  said  unto  them,  repent  and  be  baptized,  every 
one  of  you,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of 
sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"  For  the  promise  is  unto  you  and  to  your  children,  and  to  all 
that  are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call." 
—Acts  ii.,  38,  39. 

HAVING  considered  the  form  and  signification 
of  Baptism,  let  us  inquire  who  are  its  proper 
subjects,  and  what  are  the  uses  to  which  it  may  be 
applied. 

Adults  must  first  profess  their  faith  in  Christ,  and 
obedience  to  him.  On  this  part  of  the  subject  we 
have  no  controversy  with  immersionists.  And 
when  they  have  proved  the  necessity  of  faith  and 
repentance  in  order  to  the  baptism  of  an  adult,  they 
have  proved  nothing  against  us,  for  this  is  our 
doctrine. 

If  a  materialist  proves  ever  so  clearly  that  man  as 
to  his  body  is  material,  he  has  proved  nothing 
against  the  immateriality  of  the  soul. 

If  a  Unitarian  proves  that  Jesus  the  Messiah  was 
a  man,  he  proves  nothing  against  those  who  believe 
that  "  He  is  both  God  and  Man  in  two  distinct 
natures  and  one  person  forever."  The  grand  ques- 
tion remains — Are  the  infant  seed  of  believing  mem- 

40 


BAPTISM. 


bers  of  the  visible  church  proper  subjects  of  baptism  ? 
We  take  the  affirmative — anti-paedobaptists  the 
negative  side  of  this  question. 

The  propriety  of  infant  baptism  appears: 

1.  From  the  renewal  of  the  promise  to  believers 
and  their  seed  on  the  introduction  of  the  new  cov- 
enant dispensation.  The  promise  is  to  you  and  to 
your  children  ;  baptism  is  the  seal  of  the  promise  ; 
therefore  baptism  belongs  to  you  and  your  children. 

This  is  according  to  the  uniform  teaching  of  the 
Word  of  God.  From  the  beginning  of  the  world 
the  family  shares  in  the  relations  of  its  head.  When 
God  made  a  covenant  with  Adam  he  made  a  cove- 
nant with  his  family. 

And  when,  after  the  fall,  God  receives  back  his 
apostate  children  to  himself  through  the  promised 
seed  of  the  woman,  who  should  bruise  the  serpent's 
head,  he  takes  back  to  his  family  the  believer  and 
his  seed. 

When  he  makes  a  covenant  with  Noah,  and  seals 
it  with  a  rainbow,  he  makes  a  covenant  with  his 
seed,  the  human  family,  that  he  will  not  again  send 
a  flood  to  drovv^n  the  world. 

2.  When  he  takes  Abraham  Into  a  covenant  with 
himself,  he  takes  also  his  infant  offspring.  He  seals 
the  promise — "I  will  be  a  God  unto  thee  and  to  thy 
seed  after  thee,"  by  requiring  the  seed  to  be  circum- 
cised at  eight  days  old. — Gen.  xvii.,  7,  10,  12. 

This  circumcision  was  a  seal  of  the  righteousness 
of  faith.     The  principle  of  the  church  membership 


42  SERMONS. 


of  the  infants  of  God's  people,  and  the  right  and 
duty  of  confirming  it  by  a  seal  upon  their  persons, 
was  thus  distinctly  recognized  in  the  constitution  of 
the  Church  of  God.  This  principle,  until  the  intro- 
duction of  the  New  Dispensation,  for  a  period  of 
eighteen  hundred  years,  was  never  called  in  ques- 
tion. Any  objections,  then,  against  the  reasonable- 
ness or  propriety  of  administering  to  infants  ordi- 
nances which  they  can  not  understand,  and  laying 
on  them  obligations  to  which  they  can  not  consent, 
is  an  implied  charge  against  God,  who  beyond  all 
controversy  did  require  these  very  things. 

3.  The  Church  of  God  is  one  under  both  dispen- 
sations. "  For  if  thou  wert  cut  out  of  the  olive 
tree,  which  is  wild  by  nature,  and  wert  grafted  con- 
trary to  nature  into  a  good  olive  tree,  how  much 
more  shall  these,  which  be  the  natural  branches,  be 
grafted  into  their  own  olive  tree." — Rom.  xi.  24. 
The  tree  is  the  church,  and  it  is  the  same  while  the 
Jews  were  the  church,  since  they  were  cut  off  for 
their  unbelief,  and  the  Gentiles  were  grafted  in,  and 
will  be  still  the  same  when  the  Jews  shall  be 
restored  to  their  own  olive  tree. 

This  is  further  proved  by  the  language  of  Peter: 
"  For  Moses  truly  said  unto  the  fathers,  A  prophet 
shall  the  Lord  your  God  raise  up  unto  you,  of  your 
brethren,  like  unto  me  ;  him  shall  ye  hear  in  all 
things  whatsoever  he  shall  say  unto  you,"  and  who- 
soever "will  not  hear  that  prophet  shall  be  destroyed 
from  among  the  people." — Acts  iii.,  22,  23.     The 


BAPTISM.  43 


people  in  this  place  is  the  visible  church  of  God, 
from  which  the  body  of  the  Jewish  nation  were  cut 
off  for  their  unbelief.  It  can  not  mean  the  church 
invisible,  for  its  members  are  never  lost ;  nor  the 
nation  of  the  Jews,  for  they  are  the  persons  cut  off. 

A  constitutional  privilege,  then,  which  had  ex- 
isted in  the  church  from  the  days  of  Abraham,  and 
even  of  Adam,  must  continue  in  the  one  church 
until  it  is  taken  away  by  Jehovah  himself.  There 
is  not  a  shadow  of  evidence  that  the  membership 
of  the  infants  of  God's  children  has  been  revoked 
and  its  seal  forbidden.  These  privileges  therefore 
remain. 

4.  The  silence  of  the  Scriptures  in  relation  to 
any  such  withdrawing  of  the  privileges  of  the 
children  of  God's  people,  is  itself  demonstration 
against  any  such  withdrawal.  It  is  inconceivable 
that  not  a  word  of  complaint  should  be  uttered,  not 
a  word  of  consolation  given,  under  so  sore  a  bereave- 
ment. Instead  of  the  increase  of  privileges  which 
they  are  authorized  by  the  prophets  to  expect  in 
the  last  and  most  perfect  dispensation  of  the  cove- 
nant of  grace  on  earth,  without  a  moment's  warn- 
ing, without  a  word  of  alleviation  to  the  sore  trou- 
ble, believers  find  their  children,  dear  to  them  as 
their  own  soul,  cast  out  among  the  uncircumcised 
and  the  unclean,  and  not  a  tear  of  sorrow  is  seen, 
not  a  sigh  or  moan  is  heard.  Are  these  Christians 
stocks  or  stones,  or  the  inspired  historians  incom- 
petent  or  faithless,  that   they  pass  unnoticed  the 


44  SERMO.VS. 


most  affecting  and  important  events  in  the  history 
of  that  Church  of  the  Redeemer  which  he  pur- 
chased with  his  own  blood  ? 

When  the  old  form  of  the  seal,  circumcision,  is 
superseded,  and  another,  better  adapted  to  the 
church  of  all  nations,  and  countries,  and  climes,  is 
substituted,  so  great  is  the  reluctance  to  give  it  up 
that  a  council  of  apostles  and  elders  must  convene 
at  Jerusalem  to  settle  the  question — and  yet  we  are 
asked  to  believe  that  the  entire  seal,  in  every  form, 
and  the  relations,  and  privileges,  and  obligations 
which  it  illustrates  and  confirms,  are  withdrawn, 
and  silence  like  that  of  the  grave  rests  upon  the 
whole  subject. 

5.  The  silence  of  Holy  Scripture  in  relation  to 
the  repeal  of  one  of  the  Church's  dearest  privileges 
can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  simple  fact  that 
no  such  repeal  was  ever  made,  nor  ever  came  it 
into  the  heart  of  Him  who  took  up  the  little  children 
in  his  arms  and  blessed  them  for  the  reason  that  of 
such  is  the  kingdom  of  God.  "And  they  brought 
young  children  to  him,  that  he  should  touch  them  ; 
and  his  disciples  rebuked  those  that  brought  them. 
But  when  Jesus  saw  it  he  was  much  displeased,  and 
said  unto  them,  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come 
unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not :  for  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  God.  And  he  took  them  up  in  his 
arms,  put  his  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them." — 
Mark  X.,  13,  14,  16;  Luke  xvlii.,  16. 

If  they  belong  to  the  kingdom  they  are  in  his 


BAPTISM.  45 


church,  and  not  in  the  kingdom  of  Satan.  Would 
he  declare  them  blessed  who  belong  to  the  kingdom 
of  the  god  of  this  world  ?  If  the  kingdom  of  God 
here  means  the  church  invisible,  or  the  church 
triumphant,  then,  as  the  greater  comprehends  the 
less,  if  to  them  belong  the  blessings  to  them 
belongs  the  sign.  If  they  do  not  belong  to  the 
church  at  all,  then  they  are  subjects  of  the  kingdom 
of  Satan,  and  the  models  to  wdiich  the  children  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  are  to  be  conformed. 

6.  The  apostles,  in  laying  the  foundations  of  the 
new  dispensation  of  the  covenant,  act  upon  the 
assumption  that  this  great  constitutional  principle 
has  not  been  disturbed.  The  whole  history  takes 
for  granted  the  principle  with  which  the  Jews  were 
familiar  from  the  days  of  Abraham,  that  the  child- 
ren of  believers  were  to  be  recognized  as  in  cove- 
nant with  God,  and  receive  the  seal  of  the  cove- 
nant. The  apostles  baptize  whole  households  on 
the  faith  of  the  heads  of  the  families  respectively. 
Lydia's  family  were  all  baptized,  and  no  mention  is 
made  of  the  faith  of  any  of  her  household  but  her 
own. — Acts  xvi.,  14,  15. 

The  case  of  the  jailer  at  Philippi  attests  the 
truth  :  *'  And  they  said,  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus- 
Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved,  and  thy  house  ;. 
and  they  spake  unto  him  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and 
to  all  that  were  in  his  house.  And  he  took  them 
the  same  hour  and  washed  their  stripes,  and  was 
baptized,  he  and  all  his  straightway.     And  when  he 


46  SERMONS. 


kad  brought  them  into  his  house,  he  set  meat  before 
them,  and  rejoiced,  beHeving  in  God  with  all  his 
house."  In  the  original  it  is :  "  he  rejoiced  with  all 
his  house,  TteTtKjrevnc^^  rc5  Qecp,  he  believiiig  in  God." 
This  is  just  as  it  would  be  if  the  principle  for  which 
we  contend  were  universally  admitted  and  acted 
on,  but  unaccountable  on  the  contrary  supposition. 
These  instances  being  merely  a  sample  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  apostles,  what  occurred  in  these 
families  occurred  in  all  other  families  under  similar 
circumstances. 

7.  The  apostle  Paul  expressly  decides  that  the 
privilege  of  the  seal  of  the  covenant,  derived 
through  Abraham,  is  continued  to  both  Gentile  and 
Jew:  "  And  he  received  the  sign  of  circumcision,  a 
seal  of  the  righteousness  of  the  faith  which  he  had 
yet  being  uncircumcised :  that  he  might  be  the 
father  of  all  them  that  believe,  though  they  be  not 
circumcised,  that  righteousness  might  be  imputed 
unto  them  also  ;  And  the  father  of  circumcision  to 
them  who  are  not  of  the  circumcision  only,  but  who 
also  walk  in  the  steps  of  that  faith  of  our  father 
Abraham,  which  he  had  being  yet  uncircumcised. — 
Rom.  iv.,  11,12. 

Abraham  is  called  the  father  of  circumcision, 
because  this  ordinance,  as  a  seal  of  the  covenant, 
began  v/ith  him,  and  by  him  was  transmitted  to  all 
his  believing  seed,  Jew  and  Gentile.  Circumcision, 
the  first  name  of  the  seal,  is  still  used  to  express 
that   seal.     When    circumcision   has   passed   away, 


BAPTISM.  47 


baptism  occupies  its  place.  The  apostle  uses  cir- 
cumcision and  baptism  as  expressing  the  same 
truth — Col.  ii.,  ii,  12:  "In  whom  also  ye  are  cir- 
cumcised with  the  circumcision  made  without  hands, 
in  putting  off  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh  by 
the  circumcision  of  Christ;  buried  with  him  in 
baptism."  Many  things  retain  their  first  names 
when  the  particular  circumstances  that  gave  the 
name  are  changed.  A  candlestick,  drawing  its  name 
from  the  stick  of  which  it  was  made,  is  a  candlestick 
still  when  made  of  gold.  So  the  personal  seal  of 
the  covenant  is  called  circumcision  still,  though 
now  it  is  in  the  pleasant  form  of  baptism.  The 
seal  then  continues  to  the  uncircumcised,  and  the 
uncircumcised  have  no  other  seal  than  baptism, 
which  is  the  same  seal,  though  under  a  new  form, 
given  to  Abraham  and  his  seed,  and  therefore  it  is 
to  be  applied,  as  in  its  old  form,  to  believers  and  to 
their  seed. 

8.  The  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  decides  a  case 
which  shows  that  the  principle  of  infant  member- 
ship in  the  church  was  known  and  unquestioned, 
and  that  it  is  to  be  liberally  applied.  "  For  the  un- 
believing husband  is  sanctified  by  the  wife,  and  the 
unbelieving  wife  is  sanctified  by  the  husband  :  else 
were  your  cliildren  unclean  ;  but  now  are  they  holy." 
— I.  Cor.  vii.,  14.  Holy  and  unholy  mean  conse- 
crated to  God  and  not  consecrated  to  him.  Holy 
describes  membership  in  the  church,  unholy  the 
v/ant  of  such  membership.     It  is  declared  by  the 


48  SERMONS. 


apostle  that  if  both  parents  are  unbelievers,  their 
children  are  not  in  the  church ;  but  if  both  are 
believers,  it  is  assumed  they  are  in  the  church.  But 
the  question  is,  if  one  parent  is  a  believer,  and  the 
other  an  unbeliever,  what  is  the  relation  of  the 
children — are  they  in  the  church,  the  kingdom  of 
God,  with  the  believing  parent,  or  out  of  the  church, 
and  in  the  kingdom  of  Satan,  with  the  unbelieving? 
The  apostle  decides  that  the  parental  relation  is 
sanctified  by  the  one  believing  parent,  and  therefore 
the  privileges  of  the  children  are  not  withdrawn  by 
the  unbelief  of  the  other. 

The  evasion  of  the  force  of  this  testimony  is  by 
contradicting  the  whole  usage  of  the  language  in 
rendering  the  words  rendered  holy  and  unholy  by 
legitimate  and  illegitimate.  The  verse,  according 
to  these  translators,  would  read  thus  :  For  the  un- 
believing husband  is  made  legitimate  by  the  wife, 
and  the  unbelieving  wife  is  made  legitimate  by  the 
husband  :  else  were  your  children  illegitimate  ;  but 
now  are  they  legitimate.  These  words  are  never  so 
used  in  the  Bible.  This  rendering  makes  the  apostle 
say  what  neither  he  nor  any  one  else,  not  even  these 
learned  critics  themselves  believe,  that  the  marriage 
of  unbelievers  is  no  better  than  concubinage,  and 
their  children  are  bastards. 

Although  nothing  is  to  be  believed  but  what  is 
taught  us  in  the  Word  of  God  by  direct  declaration, 
or  fair  and  necessary  inference,  yet  a  position  fairly 
established  by  that  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and 


BAPTISM.  49 


of  practice  may  be  corroborated  by  the  testimony 
of  history. 

The  historical  argument  is  in  favor  of  infant 
baptism. 

Justin  Martyr,  who  wrote  about  forty  years  after 
the  apostolic  age,  says  :  ''  We  have  not  received  the 
carnal  but  spiritual  circumcision  by  baptism,  and  it 
is  enjoined  on  all  persons  to  receive  it  in  the  same 
way."  He  evidently  considers  baptism  as  being  in 
the  place  of  circumcision,  and  consequently,  like 
that  ancient  rite,  designed  for  infants  as  well 
as  for  adults.  In  one  of  his  apologies  for  the 
Christians,  he  observes  '*  several  persons  among  us 
of  sixty  or  seventy  years  old,  who  were  made 
disciples  to  Christ  from  their  childhood."  If  infant 
children  were  made  disciples,  they  were  undoubt- 
edly baptized. 

Irenaeus,  who  wrote  sixty-seven  years  after  the 
apostles,  and  was  then  an  aged  man,  says  concern- 
ing Christ :  *'  He  came  to  save  all  persons  who  by 
him  are  regenerated  unto  God  ; — infants,  little  ones, 
youths,  and  elderly  persons.  He  speaks  of  infants 
and  little  ones  as  being  regenerated.  It  is  evident, 
from  his  own  words,  that  he  had  reference  to  their 
baptism,  for  he  tells  us :  "  When  Christ  gave  his 
apostles  the  command  of  regenerating  unto  God,  he 
said,  go,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them.'' 
Justin  Martyr  says  they  are  "•  regenerated  in  the 
same  way  of  regeneration  in  which  we  have  been 
regenerated,  for  they  are  washed  with  water  in  the 


so  SERMONS. 


name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

Tertullian  flourished  one  hundred  years  after  the 
apostles.  He  witnessed  to  the  fact  of  the  common 
practice  of  infant  baptism  ?  He  asks  :  *'  Why  that 
innocent  age  made  such  haste  to  baptism."  He 
admits  its  propriety  in  some  cases  of  necessity,  of 
sickness,  and  danger  of  death.  He  does  not  declare 
it  unlawful  in  any  case,  but  advises  to  defer  it  not 
only  until  adult  age,  but  until  after  marriage.  He 
is  the  only  man  in  all  antiquity  whose  writings  have 
come  down  to  us,  who  has  said  any  thing  at  all 
against  the  practice  of  baptizing  infants. 

Origen,  who  flourished  in  the  beginning  of  the 
third  century,  and  was  for  some  time  contemporary 
with  Tertullian,  says  :  '*  Infants  are  baptized  for  the 
remission  of  sins."  "  The  church  had  a  tradition 
or  command  from  the  apostles  to  give  baptism  to 
infants."  Origen  and  the  ancient  fathers  do  not 
speak  of  infant  baptism  as  though  it  was  denied  or 
opposed  by  any  one  ;  they  mention  it  as  a  practice 
generally  known  and  approved,  and  for  the  purpose 
of  illustrating  and  confirming  other  points  that  were 
disputed. 

Cyprian,  and  the  rest  of  the  Council  of  Carthage, 
A.D.  253,  on  a  question  whether  an  infant  might  be 
baptized  before  the  eighth  day,  decided  :  "  That 
an  infant  might  be  baptized  on  the  second  or  third 
day,  or  at  any  time  after  its  birth." 

Ambrose,  who  wrote  about  274  years  after  the 


BAPTISM.  51 


apostles,  declares  expressly — "  that  infant  baptism 
was  practiced  in  his  time,  and  in  the  time  of  the 
apostles." 

Chrysostom  observes — "  that  persons  may  be 
baptized  either  in  infancy,  in  middle  age,  or  in  old 
age." 

Jerome  ^ays  :  "  If  infants  be  not  baptized,  the  sin 
of  omitting  their  baptism  is  laid  to  the  parent's 
charge." 

Augustine,  who  wrote  at  the  same  time,  about 
280  years  after  the  apostles,  speaks  "■  of  infant 
baptism  as  one  of  those  practices  which  was  not 
instituted  by  any  council,  but  had  always  been  in 
use."  The  whole  church  of  Christ,  he  informs  us, 
had  constantly  held  that  infants  were  baptized  for 
the  forgiveness  of  sins  ;  that  he  had  never  heard  or 
read  of  any  Christian,  Catholic  or  sectary,  who 
held  otherwise  ;  that  no  Christians  of  any  sect  ever 
denied  it  to  be  useful  or  necessary. 

Pelagius  owns  "  that  baptism  ought  to  be  adminis- 
tered to  infants,  and  affirms  that  he  never  heard  of 
any,  not  even  the  most  impious  heretic,  that  would 
say  such  a  thing  of  infants  ;  he  had  said  that  men 
slander  him  as  if  he  denied  the  sacrament  of  baptism 
to  infants." 

Dr.  Wall,  who  enjoyed  the  best  advantages  for 
being  acquainted  with  infant  baptism,  and  who  made 
this  the  principal  subject  of  his  studies  and  inqui- 
ries, briefly  sums  up  the  evidence  on  both  sides  in 
the  following  words  :    "  For  the  first   four  hundred 


52  SERMONS. 


years  there  appears  only  one  man,  TertuUian,  who 
advised  the  delay  of  infant  baptism  in  some  cases, 
and  one  Gregory,  who  did  perhaps  practice  such  de- 
lay in  the  case  of  his  own  children,  but  no  society  of 
men,  so  thinking,  so  practicing,  or  any  one  man, 
saying  it  was  unlawful  to  baptize  infants.  So  in 
the  next  seven  hundred  years  there  is  not  so  much 
as  one  man  to  be  found  who  either  spoke  for  or  prac- 
ticed any  such  delay,  but  all  the  contrary.  And 
when  about  the  year  1130  one  sect  among  the  Wal- 
denses  or  Albigenses  declared  against  the  baptizing 
of  infants  as  being  incapable  of  salvation,  the  main 
body  of  that  people  rejected  their  opinion,  and 
they  of  them  who  held  that  opinion  quickly  dwin- 
dled away  and  disappeared,  there  being  no  more  per- 
sons heard  of  holding  that  tenet  until  the  rising  of 
the  German  Anti-Psedobaptists,  in  the  year  1522." 
[Reed's  Apology  in  Ridgely.] 

The  objections  to  infant  baptism  are  mainly  the 
following : 

I.  "It  is  useless  and  improper  to  administer  an 
ordinance  to  an  infant  that  can  not  understand  it, 
nor  consent  to  the  duties  which  it  binds  upon  its 
subjects."  The  case  is  the  same  in  these  respects 
with  circumcision,  and  therefore  not  to  be  reasoned 
against,  but  rebuked  as  constructive  blasphemy 
against  the  only  true  God.  "  O  man,  who  art  thou 
that  repliest  against  God  ?  "  Does  the  moral  law 
wait  for  man's  consent  before  it  binds  him  to  obe- 
dience? 


BAPTISM.  53 


2.  Faith  and  repentance  are  required  in  order  to 
baptism.  "  He  that  believes  and  is  baptized  shall 
be  saved." — Mark  xvi.,  i6;  Acts  ii.,  38. 

This  and  kindred  passages  either  respect  the  case 
of  infants  or  they  do  not.  If  they  do  not,  they  are 
to  be  regarded  as  out  of  consideration  on  this  point. 
If  they  do,  then  they  teach  the  doctrine  of  infant 
perdition,  for  faith  is  a  prerequisite  to  salvation,  and 
they  are  incapable  of  faith.  "  He  that  believeth  shall 
be  saved,  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned." 
The  sect  among  the  Waldenses  who  rejected  infant 
baptism  were  the  only  consistent  Baptists,  for  they 
rejected  the  baptism  of  infants  because  tJiey  were 
incapable  of  salvation.  Nobody  believes  that  now,  not 
even  the  Baptists  themselves.  They  are  not  as  bad 
as  their  scheme,  nor  as  cruel  as  their  argument. 

3.  They  contend  that  a  positive  institution  re- 
quires an  explicit  warrant,  by  express  command  or 
approved  example.  They  will  admit  nothing  which 
depends  on  reasoning  from  the  Scriptures.  In  this 
they  condemn  the  Saviour  and  the  apostles,  who 
prove  their  doctrines  by  reasoning  out  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. They  are  inconsistent  with  themselves,  for 
they  admit  females  to  the  Lord's  Supper  without 
an  explicit  warrant.  They  appeal  to  the  word 
av^pojTto^,  which  they  say  means  both  man  and 
woman.  (Let  a  man  examine  himself.)  This  is 
their  inference,  and  not  the  explicit  warrant  which 
they  require.  This  word  is  used  nineteen  times  in 
Scripture  to  distinguish  man  from  woman  :    "  There- 


54  SERMONS. 


fore  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother,  and 
cleave  to  his  wife."  They  have  no  explicit  warrant 
for  baptistries  in  their  churches  or  immersion  of 
their  converts,  and  it  has  been  proved  that  they  have 
no  warrant  for  them  at  all. 

A  great  social  principle  is  at  stake,  and  in  its  most 
important  exercise,  that  children  follow  the  condi- 
tion of  their  parents.  The  Baptist  scheme  would 
expunge  that  principle  from  the  moral  and  religious 
code,  and  denounce  the  wisdom  of  God  as  folly.  If 
the  question  were,  shall  the  children  of  American 
citizens,  born  in  the  country,  be  accounted  citizens 
or  aliens,  entitled  by  their  birth  to  the  privileges  and 
bound  by  the  obligations  of  citizens,  or  neither  en- 
titled to  the  former  nor  bound  by  the  latter,  there 
would  rise  from  the  great  heart  of  the  nation  a  re- 
sponse so  loud  and  universal,  and  overwhelming,  in 
favor  of  the  citizenship,  the  privileges,  and  the 
duties  of  the  native-born  children  of  our  loyal  citi- 
zens, as  would  never  allow  the  question  to  be  mooted 
again.  And  is  a  birthright  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
his  church  on  earth,  less  valuable  than  American 
citizenship,  or  less  influential  to  enforce,  on  obedient 
and  grateful  hearts,  devotion  to  its  interests  and 
obedience  to  its  laws  ? 

Fourthly.     The  uses  of  this  ordinance. 

I.  It  condenses  to  a  bright  and  burning  focus  the 
great  truths  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  the  Trinity, 
man's  apostacy  from  God,  his  condemnation  and  pol- 
lution, the  mediation   of  Jesus,  regeneration  by  the 


BAPTISM.  55 


Holy  Spirit,  union  with  Christ  the  Mediator  by  the 
indwelling  of  the  Spirit,  justification  through  the 
blood  and  righteousness  of  the  surety  Emanuel, 
adoption  into  the  family  of  God,  perfect  holiness 
and  eternal  blessedness  in  the  vision  and  fruition  of 
the  Triune  God,  and  everlasting  devotion  to  his  ser- 
vice and  glory. 

2.  The  solemn  relations  and  mutual  engagements 
between  God  and  his  ransomed,  which  it  signifies 
and  seals,  should  stir  up  the  people  of  God  to  greater 
faith,  to  more  devout  affections,  and  more  cordial 
and  entire  consecration  in  heart  and  life  to  their 
covenant  God.  Every  time  they  witness  its  admin- 
istration, they  should  remember  and  repent  of  their 
departures  from  the  holy  covenant,  and  lay  hold  on 
it  afresh,  as  all  their  salvation  and  all  their  desire. 
They  should  remember  that  as  all  that  God  is  he  has 
made  over  to  them  for  their  safety  and  comfort  in 
time  and  in  eternity,  so  all  that  they  are  and  have, 
they  have  devoted  to  him,  to  be  employed  in  his  ser- 
vice and  for  his  glory.  "■  Ye  are  not  your  own,  ye 
are  bought  with  a  price  ;  wherefore  glorify  God  with 
your  bodies  and  with  your  spirits,  which  are  his." 
Holiness  to  the  Lord  is  written  upon  your  whole 
persons,  relations,  and  powers,  and  it  were  sacrilege 
to  employ  them  for  any  other  purpose  than  that  to 
which  they  are  set  apart  by  Him  whose  they  are  by 
a  double  right — creation  at  the  first,  and  then,  when 
sin  had  wrought  their  ruin,  by  redemption  from  eter- 
nal death. 


56  SERMONS. 


Parents  who  have  devoted  your  children  to  God 
in  baptism,  remember  that  they  are  holy,  that  they 
belong  unto  the  Lord,  and  that  he  has  entrusted 
them  to  you  to  bring  them  up  for  him  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  '*  Train  up  a  child  in 
the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not 
depart  from  it."  Instruct  them  in  the  way  of  salva- 
tion, and  their  own  duty  in  relation  to  it,  their 
sinful  and  miserable  condition  by  nature,  the  way  of 
salvation  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  their 
own  solemn  covenant  obligations  to  live  a  life  of 
faith  upon  the  Son  of  God.  '*  These  words  which  I 
command  thee  this  day  shalt  be  in  thy  heart,  and 
thou  shalt  teach  them  diligently  to  thy  children  and 
shalt  talk  of  them  when  thou  sittest  in  thine  house, 
and  when  thou  walkest  by  the  way,  and  when  thou 
liest  down,  and  when  thou  risest  up," 

Pray  for  them  in  the  closet  and  in  your  family. 
Lay  hold  by  faith  upon  the  covenant,  and  plead  in 
prayer  the  promise,  *'  I  will  be  a  God  to  you  and  to 
your  seed  after  you," — plead  it  for  yourselves  that 
you  may  be  saved,  and  plead  the  promise  for  them, 
that  they  may  be  saved.  And  as  you  must  prove 
your  faith  in  the  promise  respecting  yourself  to  be 
sincere  by  corresponding  exertions  to  make  your 
calling  and  election  sure,  so  prove  your  faith  in  the 
promise  that  respects  the  salvation  of  your  children 
by  using  all  diligence  that  they  may  be  brought 
savingly  within  the  bonds  of  the  covenant.  Plead 
with  him  that  other  promise,  "  I  will  pour  water 


BAPTISM.  57 


upon  him  that  is  thirsty,  and  floods  upon  the  dry 
ground.  I  will  pour  my  spirit  upon  thy  seed,  and 
my  blessing  upon  thine  offspring;  and  they  shall 
grow  up  among  the  grass  as  willows  by  the  water- 
courses. One  shall  say,  I  am  the  Lord's,  and 
another  shall  call  himself  by  the  name  of  Jacob, 
and  another  shall  subscribe  with  his  hand  unto  the 
Lord,  and  surname  himself  by  the  name  of  Israel." 
Wrestle  with  God  for  your  families  as  Jacob 
wrestled  with  the  angel  of  the  covenant  and  pre- 
vailed. Imitate  the  Syro-Phoenician  woman  and 
take  no  denial,  and  at  length  he  will  say  unto  you 
even  as  unto  her,  *'  Be  it  unto  you  even  as  ye  will  ; 
go  in  peace,  your  children  are  saved." 

Exercise  over  your  children  a  vigilant  and  firm, 
yet  kind  and  patient  government  and  control.  See 
the  necessity  for  this  in  the  contrasted  histories  of 
Abraham  and  Eli.  Of  the  one  there  is  recorded  this 
goodly  report :  ''  I  know  Abraham  that  he  will  com- 
mand his  children  and  his  household  after  him,  and 
they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord,  to  do  justice  and 
judgment ;  that  the  Lord  may  bring  upon  Abraham 
that  which  he  hath  spoken  of  him." — Gen.  xviii.,  19. 
Consider  also  the  fearful  consequences  of  neglect  in 
this  matter  as  illustrated  in  the  family  of  Eli :  *'  I 
will  do  a  thing  in  Israel,  at  which  both  the  ears  of 
every  one  that  heareth  it  shall  tingle,  ....  because 
his  sons  made  themselves  vile,  and  he  restrained 
them  not." — I.  Sam.  iii.,  11,  13. 

To  instruction,  prayer,  and  authority,  add  a  holy 


5  8  SERMONS. 

example,  so  that  you  may  say  to  them  without 
shame,  Be  followers  of  us  as  we  are  of  Christ.  Not 
only  point  the  road  to  heaven,  but  lead  the  way. 
Show  in  your  own  lives  what  true  godliness  is,  and 
and  then  try  to  induce  them  to  follow  your  exam- 
ple. If  you  would  not  that  the  blood  of  the  souls 
of  your  own  offspring  should  be  found  in  your 
skirts  in  the  great  day,  if  you  would  not  see  them 
on  the  left  hand  of  the  Judge  among  the  accursed, 
and  charging  the  guilt  of  their  blood  upon  you,  be 
up  and  doing  while  it  is  called  to-day,  before  the 
night  come  wherein  no  man  can  work,  that  they 
may  not  go  to  the  place  of  torment. 

If  you  would  desire  to  see  your  children  adorning 
the  doctrine  of  God  the  Saviour,  and  standing  with 
you  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Judge  at  the  last  day, 
and  spending  with  you  a  blissful  eternity  in  his 
presence,  where  is  fullness  of  joy,  and  at  his  right 
hand,  where  are  pleasures  forevermore,  cease  not 
continually  to  train  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  ad- 
monition of  the  Lord,  laboring  in  birth  for  them 
that  Christ  may  be  formed  in  their  hearts,  the  hope 
of  glory,  and  surrounded  at  last  with  your  glorified 
family,  you  may  say  to  your  covenant  God,  "  Here 
are  we  and  the  children  thou  hast  given  us." 

Baptized  Children  and  Youth — The  vows  of  God 
are  upon  you.  You  are  consecrated  to  the  service 
and  glory  of  God.  To  appropriate  to  your  own  use 
the  church  plate,  or  any  other  thing  devoted  to 
God,  were  a  venial  offense  compared  with  employing 


BAPTISM.  59 


in  the  service  of  Satan,  the  world,  and  the  flesh, 
those  faculties  of  soul  and  body  which  by  the  divine 
law  have  been  consecrated  to  the  service  of  God  in 
Christ  forevermore. 

From  the  solemn  covenant  which  has  been  sealed 
to  you  at  your  baptism,  you  cannot  go  back  but  at 
the  cost  of  most  aggravated  sin  and  misery.  You 
must  break  through  all  the  restraints  which  the  God 
of  grace  has  thrown  around  you  to  prevent  you 
from  being  your  own  destroyers.  You  may  kick 
at  the  bowels  of  the  most  distinguishing  mercies, 
you  may  sell  your  birthright,  like  profane  Esau,  for 
a  mess  of  pottage — but  for  your  apostacy  receive 
the  wages  of  eternal  death.  And  when  you  see 
your  minister,  your  parents,  your  Christian  friends, 
who  have  prayed  for  you,  and  who  have  labored 
with  you,  that  you  might  be  saved,  standing  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  everlasting  throne,  and  you  your- 
selves among  the  lost,  how  will  all  your  privileges 
and  opportunities  neglected  and  despised  harrow  up 
your  souls.  And  when,  in  the  endless  ages  which 
succeed,  you  reflect  upon  times  like  this  when  God 
did  beseech  you  by  us  to  be  reconciled  to  him ; 
when  we  prayed  you  in  Christ's  stead  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  God  and  yc  would  not — how  will  a  guilty 
conscience,  the  worm  that  never  dies,  gnaw  your 
souls  with  the  anguish  of  eternal  remorse.  Be  up 
and  doing  while  it  is  called  to-day,  before  the  night 
come  wherein  no  man  can  work.  Cry  mightily  to 
God   for  that  grace  of  the  Spirit  of  which  he  has 


6o  SERMONS. 


given  you  the  seal,  that  you  may  cordially  embrace 
his  covenant  mercy.  By  all  that  regard  for  the 
glory  of  his  name  and  the  welfare  of  your  immortal 
nature,  in  soul  and  body,  by  which  God  urges  you 
to  give  yourself  to  him  in  an  everlasting  covenant, 
do  you  urge  him  to  give  to  you  that  grace  of  the 
Spirit  whereby  alone  you  can  yield  yourself  to  God 
a  free-will  offering,  a  living  sacrifice  for  time  and  for 
eternity.  He  has  said  :  "  I  will  pour  my  spirit  upon 
thy  seed,  and  my  blessing  on  thine  offspring." 
"  Hath  he  said  it  and  will  he  not  do  it  ;  hath  he 
spoken  it  and  will  he  not  bring  it  to  pass."  Listen 
to  his  gracious  expostulations.  "  Remember  now 
thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  while  the  evil 
days  come  not,  nor  the  years  draw  nigh  when  ye 
shall  sa}^  We  have  no  pleasure  in  them."  "  Wilt 
thou  not  at  this  time  cry  unto  me,  My  father,  thou 
art  the  guide  of  my  youth."  "  Rejoice,  O  young 
man,  in  thy  youth,  and  let  thy  heart  cheer  thee  in 
the  days  of  thy  youth,  and  walk  in  the  way  of  thine 
heart  and  in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes  ; — but  know  that 
for  all  these  things  God  will  bring  thee  into  judg- 
ment." "  Let  all,  whether  baptized  or  not,  accept 
of  God's  covenant  as  all  their  salvation  and  all 
their  desire."  "  Incline  your  ear  and  come  unto 
me,  hear  and  your  souls  shall  live,  and  I  will  make 
an  everlasting  covenant  with  you,  even  the  sure 
mercies  of  David." 

"  Repent  and  be  baptized,  every  one  of  you,  for 
the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of 


BAPTISM.  6 1 


the  Holy  Ghost.  For  the  promise  is  to  you  and  to 
your  children,  and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as 
many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call."  And  let  all 
personally  unite  in  the  prayer  of  the  Psalmist : 
"  Let  thy  work  appear  unto  thy  servants,  and  thy 
glory  unto  thy  children.  And  let  the  beauty  of  the 
Lord  our  God  be  upon  us,  and  establish  thou  the 
work  of  our  hands  upon  us.  Yea,  the  work  of  our 
hands  establish  thou  it." 


SERMONS  ON  TEMPERANCE. 


I. 


"  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is.  .  .  temperance." — Gal.  v.,  22,  23. 

WHEN,  from  any  exciting  causes,  a  subject  of 
importance  has  been  discussed  with  such  vari- 
ety of  opinions  that  it  has  well-nigh  become  "  puz- 
zled out  of  all  intelligibility,"  it  appears  necessary 
to  bring  it  to  the  test  of  the  first  principles  of  truth. 
This  I  apprehend  to  be  the  case  with  the  subject  of 
temperance.  As  one  "set  for  the  defence  of  the 
gospel,"  whose  official  duty  it  is  to  "  contend  earn- 
estly for  the  faith  once  delivered  for  the  saints,"  I  in- 
tend, with  His  permission,  and  in  dependence  on 
His  aid,  to  give  what  I  believe  to  be  the  mind  of 
the  Spirit  on  the  point  in  question.  In  a  pro- 
fessedly Christian  community  the  appeal  is  "  to  the 
law  and  to  the  testimony  ;  if  they  speak  not  accord- 
ing to  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in 
them."  It  cannot  be  conceded  for  one  moment 
that  any  question  of  moral  obligation  may  be  decided 
independently  of  **  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith 
and  of  practice,  the  Bible,  from  which  nothing  is  to 
be  taken,  and  to  which  nothing  is  to  be  added,  at 
any  time  or  under  any  pretense,  whether  of  new 
revelations  of  the  Spirit,or  traditions  of  men."     The 

65 


66  SERMONS. 


Word  of  God  is  the  only  system  of  morals  which 
answers  the  purpose  of  a  rule  of  life,  for  it  alone 
comes  to  us  having  the  sanction  of  supreme  author- 
ity— brings  the  realities  of  the  eternal  world  to  bear 
upon  the  regulation  of  our  conduct  in  this,  and  is 
attended  with  that  almighty  influence  which  it  is 
competent  only  to  its  Author  to  exert,  and  by  which 
the  nature  and  life  of  man  may  be  molded  into 
conformity  to  the  Divine  will — "  We  all  with  open 
face  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 
are  changed  into  the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory, 
even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord." 

It  is  one  of  the  prolific  causes,  and  one  of  the 
most  conclusive  symptoms  of  heresy,  to  form  opin- 
ions on  duty  independently  of  the  holy  oracles  ;  and 
then,  instead  of  allowing  these  opinions  to  be 
molded  or  set  aside  by  the  sure  testimony  of  God, 
to  use  every  effort  to  force  that  testimony  into  a 
seeming  consistency  with  these  previous  decisions. 
But  ''  we  have  a  more  sure  word  of  prophecy,  to 
which  ye  do  well  that  ye  take  heed,  as  to  a  light 
shining  in  a  dark  place,  until  the  day  dawn  and  the 
day-star  arise  in  your  hearts." 

I  shall  first  direct  your  attention  to  what  the  holy 
Scriptures  teach  on  the  subject  of  temperance,  and 
enforce  the  duty ;  and  secondly,  examine  the  claim 
of  the  novel  doctrine  of  total  abstinence  to  be  the 
Christian  grace  and  duty  of  temperance. 

First,  in  considering  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto 
the  churches  on  this  subject,  I  ask  your  attention 


TEMPERANCE,  67 

to  the  import  of  the  duty  of  temperance,  and  to  the 
divinely  appointed  means  of  its  promotion. 

In  inquiring  into  the  meaning  of  a  record,  we  must 
ascertain  the  usage  of  its  terms.  The  word  rendered 
*'  temperance  "  occurs  four  times,  the  adjective  **  tem- 
perate "  once,  and  the  corresponding  verb  rendered 
once,  "  contain,"  and  another  time,  "be  temperate," 
twice. 

The  term  temperance  occurs,  Acts  xxiv.,  25  :  "And 
as  he  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and 
judgment  to  come,  Felix  trembled."  The  word  here 
signifies  continence  or  chastity.  Felix  had  com- 
mitted adultery  with  Drusilla  by  marrying  her  before 
the  death  of  her  former  husband,  and  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  he  was  also  guilty  of  drunkenness,  for 
he  is  charged  in  general  with  all  sorts  of  crimes. 
Again,  it  is  found  in  the  text,  where  it  closes  the 
list  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  and  is  opposed  to 
drunkenness  and  other  excesses  in  the  previous  con- 
text. And  again,  it  is  used  twice  in  2  Pet.  i.,  5,  6. 
"  Add  to  your  faith  virtue,  and  to  virtue  knowledge, 
and  to  knowledge  temperance^  and  to  temperance 
patience."  Here  also  it  forms  one  of  the  distinctive 
graces  of  Christian  character. 

The  adjective  temperate  is  used  in  the  same  sense, 
Titus  i.,  7,  8  :  "  For  a  bishop  must  be  blameless,  as 
the  steward  of  God  ;  not  self-willed,  not  soon  angry, 
not  given  to  wine,  no  striker,  not  given  to  filthy 
lucre  ;  but  a  lover  to  hospitality,  a  lover  of  good 
men,  sober,  just  holy,  temperate'^     Here  it  is  op- 


68  SERMONS. 


posed  not  only  to  being  given  to  wine,  but  to  wil- 
fulness, passionateness,  quarrelsomeness  and  avarice. 

The  corresponding  verb  is  rendered,  i  Cor.  vii.,  9, 
"contain,"  in  reference  to  sin  against  the  seventh 
commandment  :  "  But  if  they  cannot  contain,  let 
them  marry."  And  again,  ix.,  25,  it  is  rendered,  "  be 
temperate  ":  **  And  every  man  that  striveth  for  the 
mastery  is  temperate  in  all  things,"  compared  with 
verse  27,  "  I  keep  under  my  body  and  bring  it  into 
subjection." 

Schleusner's  definition  of  the  original  term  for 
temperance  is :  "  Temperance,  abstinence,  conti- 
nence, which  is  discerned  not  only  in  the  power  with 
which  any  one  restrains  himself  from  too  much,  food 
a7td  drink y  but  in  the  firm  and  moderate  government 
of  reason  over  lust  and  other  improper  propensities 
of  the  mind." 

As  a  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  and  as  a  Christian  duty 
it  implies  that  special  divine  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  by  which  the  new  man  in  Christ  Jesus  is  en- 
abled to  govern  himself  d^ccording  to  the  divine  word 
in  respect  to  all  the  propensities  of  his  nature  in  the 
inward  and  outward  man.  It  comprehends  much 
more  than  mere  freedom  from  drunkenness,  which 
may  be  found  when  other  sinful  propensities  are  in- 
dulged to  the  greatest  excess.  It  is  opposed  to  the 
unlawful  and  excessive  indulgence  of  any  propensity, 
and  it  is  associated  with  its  only  true  and  efficient 
cause,  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  regenerated  heart 
"  as  a  well  of  water,  springing  up  unto  eternal  life." 


TEMPERANCE.  69 

None,  therefore,  are  truly  temperate  but  true 
Christians  ;  for  while  some  may  be  free  from  excess 
in  one  direction  and  some  in  another,  some  in  the 
lusts  that  have  their  seat  in  the  animal  part  of  man, 
as  gluttony,  drunkenness,  fornication,  lasciviousness ; 
others  in  one  or  more  of  the  lusts  which  have  their 
seat  in  the  mind  or  spiritual  part  of  the  man,  such 
as  envy,  hatred,  malice,  idolatry,  covetousness,  none 
but  the  true  children  of  God,  by  regeneration  and 
adoption,  and  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit  of  power 
and  might,  and  of  a  sound  mind,  are  preserved  from 
ruinous  excess  in  one  or  more  of  these  ways.  From 
this  review  of  the  words  expressing  temperance,  in  all 
the  places  wherein  they  occur  in  holy  Scripture,  it  is 
manifest  that  their  views  are  extremely  limited  and 
imperfect  who  confine  this  grace  and  duty  to  the 
mere  freedom  from  drunkenness.  Men  may  be  im- 
temperate  to  delirium  ;  they  may  be  rabid  from  envy, 
and  pride,  and  anger,  and  malice;  they  may  be 
"  mad  upon  their  idols,"  while  they  suppose  them- 
selves the  exclusive  friends  of  temperance,  because 
they  oppose  drunkenness  in  a  way  of  human  inven- 
tion, they  may  be  guilty  of  intemperance  them- 
selves in  ways  more  offensive  to  God,  and  more  in- 
jurious to  themselves  and  their  neighbors,  than 
drunkenness  itself.  If  the  poor  inebriate  has  claims 
upon  the  compassion  of  his  fellow-men,  much  more 
have  they  :  or  if  rebuke  befits  them  better,  let  them 
hear  the  voice  that  speaks  to  them  from  heaven  : 
"  Thou  hypocrite,  first  pluck  the  beam  out  of  thine 


7°  SERMON'S. 


own  eye,  and  then  shalt  thou  see  clearly  to  pluck 
the  mote  out  of  thy  brother's  eye." 

And  yet  drunkenness  is  a  sin  against  the  law  of 
temperance  often  specifically  and  severely  con- 
demned in  holy  writ,  and  which  entails  upon  those 
who  commit  it  many  and  grievous  calamities.  It 
was  one  of  the  sins  of  that  abandoned  son  publicly 
stoned  to  death  by  the  congregation,  being  con- 
demned on  the  testimony  of  his  own  parents  :  "  This 
our  son  is  stubborn  and  rebellious  ;  he  will  not 
obey  our  voice  :  he  is  a  glutton  and  a  drunkard^ — 
Deut.  xxi.,  20. 

It  forms  part  of  the  catalogue  of  sins  which  would 
bring  down  the  judgments  of  God  upon  a  guilty 
people : — "  And  it  come  to  pass,  when  he  heareth 
the  words  of  this  curse,  that  he  bless  himself  in  his 
heart,  saying,  I  shall  have  peace,  though  I  walk  in 
the  imagination  of  mine  heart,  to  2idd  drunken7iess  to 
thirst:  the  Lord  will  not  spare  him,  but  then  the 
anger  of  the  Lord,  and  his  jealousy  shall  smoke 
against  that  man,  and  all  the  curses  that  are  written 
in  this  book  shall  lie  upon  him,  and  the  Lord  shall 
blot  out  his  name  from  under  heaven." — Deut. 
xxix.,  19,  20. 

Its  ruinous  consequences  in  this  world  are 
declared  by  the  wise  man :  *'  Be  not  among  wine- 
bibbers,  among  riotous  eaters  of  flesh,  for  the 
drunkard  and  the  glutton  shall  come  to  poverty." — 
Prov.  xxiii.,  20-21.  Isaiah  denounces  a  "  wo  to  them 
that  are  mighty  to  drink  wine,  and  men  of  strength 


TEMPERANCE.  71 


to  drink  strong  drink." — Is.  v.,  22.  And  again,  "  Wo 
to  the  crown  of  pride,  the  drunkards  of  Ephraim. 
.  .  .  The  crown  of  pride,  the  drunkards  of  Ephraim, 
shall  be  trodden  under  foot." — Isaiah  xxviii.,  1,3. 

Joel  exclaims,  "Awake  ye  drunkards,  and  weep 
and  howl  all  ye  drinkers  of  wine,  for  it  is  cut  off 
from  your  mouth." — Joel  i.,  5. 

Paul  places  it  among  the  works  of  the  flesh,  which 
indicate  the  unsubdued  dominion  of  sin,  and  the 
impending  wrath  of  God  :  "  Drunkenness^  revelings, 
and  such  like  ;  of  the  which  I  tell  you  before,  as  I 
have  also  told  you  in  times  past,  that  they  who  do 
such  things  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God." 
Gal.  iv.,  21.  **  Nor  covetous,  nor  drunkards,  nor 
revilers,  nor  extortioners,  shall  inherit  the  kingdom 
of  God." — I  Cor.  v.,  10.  He  utters  the  divine  pro- 
hibition, *'  Be  not  drunk  with  wine,  wherein  is 
excess,  but  be  ye  filled  with  the  Spirit." — Eph.iv.,  18. 
And  interdicts  friendly  intercourse  with  a  brother 
guilty  of  this  sin :  "  But  now  I  have  written  unto 
you  not  to  keep  company,  if  any  man  that  is  called 
a  brother  be  a  fornicator,  or  covetous,  or  an  idolater, 
or  a  railer,  or  a  drunkard,  or  an  extortioner  ;  with 
such  a  one  no  not  to  eat." — i  Cor.  v.,  11. 

From  these  passages  it  appears  that  drunkenness 
is  a  very  great  sin,  that  it  has  prevailed  in  every  age, 
bringing  down  the  most  solemn  denunciations  and 
the  most  awful  judgments  upon  individuals  and  com- 
munities ;  that  it  contemns  the  authority  and  defies 
the  vengeance  of  God,  throws  man  out  of  the  pro- 


72  SERMONS. 


tection  of  Omnipotence,  and  into  the  hands  of 
Satan,  and  every  ruinous  lust ;  that  it  destroys 
property,  reputation,  self-respect,  health,  domestic 
peace,  and  life  itself ;  that  it  proves  unbridled 
.corruption  and  depravity  of  heart  ;  that  it  excludes 
from  the  privileges  of  the  visible  church ;  and  that 
its  fearful  consequences  run  on  through  an  eternity 
of  unutterable  anguish  and  despair,  under  the  wrath 
and  curse  of  a  sin-avenging  God. 

And  have  the  wisdom  and  benevolence  of  God 
■devised  no  remedies  for  this  enormous  evil  ?  If 
they  had  not,  vain,  utterly  vain,  had  been  every  help 
of  man. 

Secondly.  For  this  evil  the  great  Physician  of  soul 
and  body  has  appointed  remedies  both  general  and 
particular;  those  intended  to  promote  the  general 
health  of  the  moral  man,  and  those  intended  to  act 
immediately  upon  this  form  of  his  disease.  The 
means  which  promote  the  grace  and  duty  of  temper- 
.ance  in  its  most  extended  and  scriptural  significa- 
tion, eradicate  drunkenness,  one  of  its  opposites. 

I.  The  general  remedy  for  this,  as  well  as  every 
other  moral  malady,  is  the  gospel  and  its  ordinances, 
accompanied  by  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from 
heaven. 

**  As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilder- 
ness, even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up,  that 
whosoever  believeth  on  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  eternal  life." — John  iii.  14,  15.  "  For  after  that, 
in  the  wisdom  of  God,  the  world  by  wisdom   knew 


TEMPERANCE.  73 


not  of  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of 
preaching  to  save  them  that  believe.  For  the  Jews 
require  a  sign,  and  the  Greeks  seek  after  wisdom; 
but  we  preach  Christ  crucified,  unto  the  Jews  a 
stumbling-block,  and  unto  the  Greeks  foolishness  ; 
but  unto  them  that  are  called,  both  Jews  and  Greeks, 
Christ  the  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God. 
Because  the  foolishness  of  God  is  wiser  than  men  ; 
and  the  weakness  of  God  is  stronger  than  men." — 
I  Cor.  i.,  21-25.  The  wise  men  of  the  world  treated 
the  gospel  as  foolishness  and  weakness,  as  they  do 
now.  Be  it  so,  says  the  inspired  man,  '*  the  foolish- 
ness of  God  is  wiser  than  men,  the  weakness  of  God 
is  stronger  than  men."  On  another  occasion,  he 
says,  "  My  speech  and  my  preaching  was  not  with 
enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstra- 
tion of  the  Spirit  and  of  power." — i  Cor.  ii.,  4.  And 
again,  *'  For  our  gospel  came  not  unto  you  in  word 
only,  but  also  in  power,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
in  much  assurance." — i  Thess.  i.,  5.  To  these 
causes  the  inspired  apostle  ascribes  the  thorough 
and  radical  reformation  of  drunkards  as  well 
as  every  other  class  of  sinful  men.  "  Know  ye  not 
that  the  unrighteous  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom 
of  God  ?  Be  not  deceived  ;  neither  fornicators,  nor 
idolaters,  nor  adulterers,  nor  effeminate,  nor  abusers 
of  themselves  with  mankind,  nor  thieves,  nor 
covetous,  nor  drunkards,  nor  revilers,  nor  extortion- 
ers, shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.  And  such 
were  some  of  you  :  but  ye  are  washed ;  but  ye  are 


74  SERMONS. 


sanctified ;  but  ye  are  justified  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God." — i  Cor. 
vi.,  9-1 1.  The  name,  the  influence  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  as  the  mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  the 
ordinance  of  God  for  human  salvation,  the  end  of 
the  law  for  righteousness  to  everyone  that  believeth, 
the  Lord  our  righteousness  made  of  God  unto  us 
wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  redemp- 
tion, procures  by  covenant  stipulation  every  bless- 
ing that  the  sinner  needs,  that  he  may  be  righteous, 
holy,  and  happy  forever.  And  these  blessings  pur- 
chased by  the  Lord  Jesus  are  effectually  applied  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  when  the  gospel  comes  not  in  word 
only,  but  in  power,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in 
much  assurance. 

The  same  truth  is  taught  by  the  same  apostle  in 
his  epistle  to  the  Galatians :  "  Now  the  works  of 
the  flesh  are  manifest,  which  are  these :  adultery, 
fornication,  uncleanliness,  lasciviousness,  idolatry, 
witchcraft,  hatred,  variance,  emulations,  strife,  wrath, 
seditions,  heresies,  envyings,  murders,  drunkenness^ 
revelings,  and  such  like ;  of  the  which  I  tell  you 
before,  as  I  have  also  told  you  in  times  past,  that 
they  which  do  such  things  shall  not  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God.  But  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love, 
joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness, 
faith,  meekness,  temperance;  against  such  there  is  no 
law.  And  they  that  are  Christ's  have  crucified  the 
flesh  with  the  affections  and  lusts." — Gal.  v.,  19-24. 
The  abandonment  of  these  hideous  and  disgusting 


TEMPERANCE.  75 

vices,  and  becoming  arrayed  in  the  opposite  and 
divinely  beautiful  graces,  is  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit, 
writing  the  truth  of  God  upon  the  tables  of  the 
heart.  This  is  the  divine  panacea  for  all  the  ills 
that  flesh  is  heir  to.  And  in  every  age,  according 
to  the  degree  in  which  it  has  been  received,  it  has 
wrought  its  moral  miracles,  transforming  brutes  in 
character  and  conduct  into  men,  and  fiends  to 
saints,  making  the  wilderness  like  Eden,  the  desert 
like  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 

Besides  this  general  remedy,  there  are  particular 
applications  to  this  form  of  the  disease.  These  are 
found  in  the  solemn  rebukes,  admonitions,  and 
warnings  with  which  the  Scriptures  abound,  as  well 
as  in  the  exercise  of  the  authority  and  discipline 
which  Christ  hath  established  in  his  church,  for  edi- 
fication and  not  for  destruction.  In  these  the  sense 
of  duty,  and  fear  and  love  of  God,  the  grateful 
sense  of  the  infinite  love  of  Christ,  and  a  due  and 
solemn  regard  for  the  man's  own  interests,  for  the 
life  that  now  is,  and  for  that  which  is  to  come,  unite 
in  withholding  him  from  the  commission  of  this 
great  evil  and  sin  against  God.  Particular  direc- 
tions are  also  given  to  particular  persons,  putting 
them  on  their  especial  guard  against  dangers  in  this 
direction.  The  priests  were  forbidden  to  drink  at 
all  when  ministering  in  holy  things.  "And  the 
Lord  spake  unto  Aaron,  saying,  Do  not  drink  wine 
or  strong  drink,  thou,  nor  thy  sons  with  thee,  when 
ye  go  into   the  tabernacle    of  the  congregation^  lest 


76      .  SERMONS, 


ye  die:  it  shall  be  a  statute  forever  throughout  your 
generations;  and  that  ye  may  put  difference  be- 
tween holy  and  unholy,  and  between  unclean  and 
clean :  and  that  ye  may  teach  the  children  of  Israel 
all  the  statutes  which  the  Lord  hath  spoken  unto 
them  by  the  hand  of  Moses." — Lev.  x.,  8-ii.  The 
same  prohibition  is  repeated  by  Ezekiel  in  describ- 
ing the  future  temple  and  its  services :  ^*  Neither 
shall  any  priest  drink  wine  when  they  enter  into  the 
inner  court." — Ezek.  xliv.,  21.  An  especial  caution 
is  given  also  to  kings  on  this  subject :  "  It  is  not 
for  kings,  O  Lemuel,  it  is  not  for  kings  to  drink 
wine,  nor  for  princes  strong  drink;  lest  they  drink 
and  forget  the  law,  and  pervert  the  judgment  of 
any  of  the  afflicted."     Proverbs  xxxi.,  4. 

A  general  warning  is  given  against  tampering 
with  temptation.  "Who  hath  wo?  who  hath  sor- 
row ?  who  hath  contentions?  who  hath  babbling? 
who  hath  wounds  without  cause  ?  who  hath  redness 
of  eyes  ?  They  that  tarry  long  at  the  wine,  they 
that  go  to  seek  mixed  wine.  Look  not  thou  upon 
the  wine  when  it  is  red,  when  it  giveth  his  color  in 
the  cup,  when  it  moveth  itself  aright :  at  the  last  it 
biteth  like  a  serpent,  and  stingeth  like  an  adder." — 
Prov.  xxiii.,  29-32.  And  a  fearful  wo  is  denounced 
against  him  who  acts  the  part  of  a  tempter  to  this 
sin  :  "  Wo  unto  him  that  giveth  his  neighbor  drink, 
that  putteth  thy  bottle  to  him,  and  makest  him 
drunken  also,  that  thou  mayest  look  on  their  naked- 
ness."— Hab.  ii.,  15. 


TEMPERANCE.  77 


Our  Lord  solemnly  warns  his  disciples  and  the 
men  of  that  day :  "'  Take  heed  to  yourselves,  lest 
at  any  time  your  heart  be  overcharged  with  surfeit- 
ing, and  drtuikeimesSy  and  cares  of  this  life,  and  so 
that  day  come  upon  you  unawares." — Luke  xxi.,  34. 
And  the  apostle  Paul  exhorts  the  Christians  at 
Rome  :  "  Let  us  walk  honestly,  as  in  the  day,  not  in 
rioting  and  drtinkejiness,  not  in  chambering  and 
wantonness,  not  in  strife  and  envying.  But  put  ye 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision 
for  the  flesh,  to  fulfill  the  lusts  thereof." — Rom.  xiii., 
13,  14.  And  he  directs  to  withdraw  from  friendly 
intercourse  with  a  professor  guilty  of  this  sin : 
"  But  now  I  have  written  unto  you,  not  to  keep 
company,  if  any  man  that  is  called  a  brother,  be  a 
fornicator,  or  covetous,  or  an  idolater,  or  a  reveller, 
or  a  drunkard,  or  an  extortioner,  with  such  a  one 
no  not  to  eat." — i  Cor.  v.,  11.  And  the  awful  decla- 
ration sounds  continually  in  his  ears  :  "  Drunkards 
shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God." 

The  prohibition  of  drunkenness  to  one  who  has 
become  so  enslaved  to  that  vice  that  he  is  incapa- 
ble of  making  any  distinction  between  the  use  and 
abuse  of  alcoholic  drinks,  includes  total  abstinence, 
for  as  to  drink  at  all  with  him  is  to  be  drunk,  the 
prohibition  of  the  latter  includes  the  prohibition  of 
the  former.  He  has  rendered  himself  incapable  of 
using  the  privilege,  and  therefore  it  is  a  privilege  to 
him  no  longer,  while  the  prohibition  against  drunk- 
enness remains  against  him  in  all  its  force.     Total 


78  SERMONS. 


abstinence  also  from  distilled  spirits  as  a  beverage, 
according  to  the  first  pledge  of  the  temperance  so- 
-ciety,  appears  allowable  on  the  ground  that  the  testi- 
mony of  those  most  competent  to  judge  in  the  case 
has  decided  that  distilled  liquors  are  always  injurious 
to  persons  in  health.  If  this  statement  be  correct, 
the  sixth  commandment  requires  men  to  abstain  : 
"  Thou  shalt  not  kill."  Thus  far  almost  all  friends 
of  temperance  arc  agreed.  For  these  reasons,  and 
in  this  -way,  should  drunkenness  be  opposed  and 
counteracted,  as  utterly  ruinous  to  all  the  interests 
of  man,  and  to  the  law  and  honor  of  God.  By  the 
faithful  preaching  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  accom- 
panied by  the  fervent,  importunate,  and  believing 
prayers  of  the  ministry  and  of  the  church  for  a 
Divine  blessing  upon  it,  by  instruction  on  the  sinful- 
ness as  well  as  the  ruinous  consequences  of  this 
vile  lust,  by  warning,  by  counsel,  and  faithful  and 
friendly  admonition,  by  watching  against  tempta- 
tions to  sin  in  ourselves  and  others,  and  by  the 
faithful  administration  of  the  discipline  of  God's 
house  on  members  who  dishonor  their  profession 
by  this  sin,  all  true  Christians  should  unitedly  seek 
the  removal  of  drunkenness  from  the  earth. 

Are  there  any  here  who  have  fallen  under  the 
power  of  this  vile  lust  ?  Let  me  entreat  you,  my 
friends,  let  me  Avarn  you,  to  turn  from  your  evil 
ways,  or  your  iniquity  will  be  your  ruin.  Flee  to 
the  stronghold,  ye  prisoners  of  hope.  Exchange  the 
pleasures  of  the  brute  for  those  of  the  saints.     ''  Be 


TEMPERANCE.  79 


not  drunk  with  wine  wherein  is  excess,  but  be  ye 
filled  with  the  Spirit."  Consider  the  fearful  evils 
which  follow  in  the  train  of  this  sin,  and  the  irrevo- 
cable decision  of  the  Judge  and  King  eternal, 
**  Drunkards  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God." 
"  Be  not  deceived,  God  is  not  mocked ;  for  what- 
soever a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap ;  for  he 
that  soweth  to  the  flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  cor- 
ruption, while  he  that  soweth  to  the  Spirit,  shall  of  the 
Spirit  reap  life  everlasting."  Let  us  all  cultivate  ac- 
quaintance with  divine  truth,  rely  on  the  grace  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  in  dependence  on  his  aid,  labor  con- 
tinually and  in  all  things  to  observe  the  rule  of  the 
divine  word  in  discharging  our  duties — to  ourselves, 
in  living  soberly — to  our  neighbors,  in  doing  justly 
and  loving  mercy — and  to  God,  by  living  Godly  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  walking  humbly  with  our  God. 

The  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  is  the  life  of  all  good 
works,  and  the  only  teaching  which  the  Spirit  of 
holiness  will  attend.  Let  us  rely  upon  the  aid  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  whereby  we  may  mortify  the  flesh 
with  the  affections  and  lusts,  that  he  may  work  in 
us  all  appropriate  fruits,  love,  joy,  peace,  long- 
suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness, 
temperance.  No  power  but  his  can  effectually  pre- 
vent man  from  seeking  his  sordid  gratifications  in 
the  things  of  earth,  and  even  in  the  maddening 
bowl,  because  none  but  he  can  impart  those  nobler 
and  purer  delights  in  the  favor,  and  fellowship,  and 
image  of  a  reconciled  God,  where  we  may  buy  wine 


8o  SERMONS. 


and  milk,  without  money  and  without  price,  and 
draw  water  with  joy  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation. 
He  is  the  Spirit  of  faith,  the  Author  of  that  spiritual 
sight  by  which  the  invisible,  eternal  world  is  made 
to  pass  before  us  in  its  transcendent  beauty  and 
value,  before  which  earthly  glories  fade,  and  earthly 
joys  are  insipid,  and  sin  appears  exceeding  sinful. 
"  This  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world, 
even  our  faith."  Instead  of  boasting  of  the  wisdom 
of  our  schemes  and  the  omnipotence  of  our  resolves, 
let  us  look  to  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  of  power, 
and  of  a  sound  mind,  that  we  may  be  instructed 
aright,  and  lean  upon  his  almighty  arm,  and  yield 
ourselves  to  his  transforming  influence,  and  feel 
upon  us  the  hand  of  his  omnipotence,  and  recog- 
nize his  presence  as  the  seal  and  earnest  of  perfect 
holiness,  and  perfect,  eternal  joy  in  his  presence, 
where  is  fullness  of  joy,  and  at  his  right  hand,  where 
are  pleasures  for  evermore. 

With  the  Bible  for  our  guide,  and  the  Spirit  for 
our  strength,  let  us  wait  upon  God,  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  the  surety  and  advocate  of  all  that  come  unto 
God  by  him,  in  the  use  of  all  his  ordinances  of 
grace,  that  we  may,  by  beholding  in  this  mirror  his 
glory,  be  changed  into  the  same  image,  from  glory 
to  glory,  accounting  all  his  commandments  concern- 
ing all  things  to  be  right,  and  hating  every  false 
way.  "  For  the  grace  of  God,  that  bringeth  salva- 
tion, hath  appeared  unto  all  men,  teaching  us  that 
denying  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  we  should 


TEMPERANCE.  8i 


live  soberly,  and  righteously,  and  godly,  in  this  pres- 
ent world,  looking  for  the  blessed  hope  and  the 
glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God,  and  our  Sav- 
iour Jesus  Christ,  who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he 
might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  us 
unto  himself,  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good 
works."  But  ye  beloved,  building  up  yourselves  in 
your  most  holy  faith,  praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of  God,  looking  for  the 
mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  unto  eternal  life." 
"  And  of  some  have  compassion,  making  a  difference, 
and  others  save  with  fear,  pulling  them  out  of  the 
fire,  hating  even  the  garment  spotted  by  the  flesh." 

"■  Now  unto  Him  that  is  able  to  keep  you  from  fall- 
ing, and  to  present  you  faultless  before  the  pres- 
ence of  His  glory  with  exceeding  joy,  to  the  only 
wise  God  our  Saviour,  be  glory  and  majesty,  domin- 
ion and  power,  both  now  and  ever."     Amen. 


IL 


" The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  .  .  .  temperance." — Gal.  v.,  22,  23. 

HAVING  on  the  last  Sabbath  evening  considered 
the  duty  of  temperance,  and  the  means  of  its 
promotion,  I  proceed  to  direct  your  attention  to 
the  claim  of  the  novel  doctrine  of  total  abstinence 
to  be  regarded  as  the  duty  of  temperance  enjoined 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  In  the  outset  of  this  dis- 
cussion, I  would  remind  you  of  the  solemn  charge, 
under  which,  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  I  am  called 
to  act.  *'  Son  of  man,  I  have  made  thee  a  watchman 
unto  the  house  of  Israel,  therefore  hear  the  word  at 
my  mouth,  and  give  them  warning  from  me." — 
Ezek.  iii.,  17.  "  If  the  watchman  see  the  sword 
come  and  blow  not  the  trumpet,  and  the  people  be 
not  warned,  if  the  sword  come  and  take  any  per- 
son from  among  them,  he  is  taken  away  in  his 
iniquity,  but  his  blood  will  I  require  at  the  watch- 
man's hand." — Ezek.  xxxiii.,  6. 

When  heresies  which  threaten  the  very  founda- 
tions of  the  Christian  religion  invade  the  church,  it 
is  the  duty  of  the  ministry  to  sound  the  alarm. 
Such  I  apprehend  to  be  the  case  in  relation  to  the 
question  of  total  abstinence,  and  hence  the  part 
which  I  have  acted  from  the  first  time  that  it  showed 


TEMPERANCE.  83 


its  face  among  us.  After  various  ineffectual  at- 
tempts, it  has  rallied  its  forces,  and  succored  by- 
some  extraordinary  auxiliaries,  it  has  evinced  a  deep 
determination  to  take  this  citadel  of  truth  by  storm. 
*^  But  when  the  enemy  cometh  in  like  a  flood,  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  will  lift  up  a  standard  against 
him." 

Who  then  is  this  unclrcumcised  Philistine,  that 
defies  the  armies  of  the  living  God  ?  He  assumes 
the  name  of  temperance,  and  under  the  sanction  of 
that  venerable  name,  demands  the  implicit  subjec- 
tion of  every  soul,  on  peril  of  ceaseless  denunciation 
and  the  bitter  and  envenomed  persecution  of  evil 
tongues  and  evil  pens ;  and  nothing  but  his  impo- 
tence prevents  him  from  wielding,  to  the  extermina- 
tion of  all  opposers,  the  censures  of  the  church,  and 
the  power  of  the  civil  magistrate.  In  default  of 
these,  he  has  established  a  government  of  his  own, 
appointed  his  officers,  marshaled  his  forces,  and  en- 
tered upon  the  work  of  subjecting  the  world  to  his 
sway.  He  is  described,  by  his  last  grand  council, 
called  the  **  Third  National  Temperance  Conven- 
tion," which  met  at  Saratoga  Springs  on  the  28th, 
29th,  and  30th  days  of  July,  1841,  as  to  his  nature  and 
his  claims,  in  the  section  on  "  Moral  Obligation." 

"  Resolved,  That  the  tendency  of  all  intoxicating 
drinks  to  derange  the  bodily  functions,  to  lead  to 
drunkenness,  to  harden  the  heart,  sear  the  con- 
science, destroy  domestic  peace,  excite  to  the  com- 
mission of   crime,  waste  human  life,  and   destroy 


84  *  SERMONS. 


souls,  and  the  rebukes  and  warnings  of  God  in  his 
word  in  relation  to  them,  in  connection  with  every 
law  of  self-preservation  and  of  love,  impose  upon 
all  men  a  solemn  moral  obligatio7i  to  cease  forever 
from  their  manufacture,  sale,  and  use,  as  a  beverage, 
and  do  unitedly  call  upon  us,  as  men  and  as  Chris- 
tians, not  to  pause  in  our  work  until  such  manufac- 
ture, sale,  and  use  shall  be  universally  abandoned." 

Here,  then,  by  the  highest  authority  known  to 
the  cause,  it  is  declared  to  be  the  solemn  moral 
obligation  of  all  men  to  cease,  forever^  from  the 
manufacture,  sale,  and  use  of  all  intoxicating  drinks 
as  a  beverage.  It  is  well  that  the  question  is  thus 
placed  in  a  form  so  clear  and  tangible. 

This  is  substantially  the  ground  of  all  those  who 
urge  entire  abstinence  as  a  duty,  in  order  to  the  cure 
of  intemperance.  And  those  who  take  the  ground 
of  expediency  arrive  at  the  same  result  after  taking 
one  step  farther  round.  If  the  thing  be  a  duty,  on 
the  ground  of  expediency,  it  is  a  sin  not  to  perform 
that  duty,  and  consequently  all  who  do  not  practice 
this  abstinence,  including  the  Saviour  himself,  are 
sinners. 

The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Newburgh  Total 
Abstinence  Society,  in  an  official  document  pre- 
sented to  the  public,  have  said  : 

"Total  abstinence  from  all  that  can  intoxicate,  is 
the  stand  taken  by  the  association,  and  which  is 
believed,  as  past  experience  has  amply  proven,  to 
be  the  only  safe  ground  and  efl"ectual,  under  God, 


7'EMPERANCE.  85 


that  can  be  taken  for  the  promotion  of  temperance." 
New.  Tel.,  July  22,  1 84 1. 

Consequently,  those  who  do  not  adopt  this  stand 
reject  the  only  safe  and  efficient  means  of  promoting 
temperance,  and  are,  therefore,  aiding  and  abetting 
intemperance. 

As  very  much  depends,  in  regard  to  the  settle- 
ment of  any  question,  on  having  it  clearly  stated, 
I  would  state,  and  briefly  illustrate,  what  I  conceive 
to  be  the  point  in  dispute.  The  ground  assumed 
by  total  abstinence  societies  is  unscriptural  and  im- 
moral, not  simply  because  they  abstain,  but  because 
they  abstain  under  the  plea  of  a  moral  obligation 
.growing  out  of  a  moral  laiv,  which  binds  me7i  nni- 
versally  and  ahvays.  A  man  may  lawfully  abstain, 
either  because  his  system  is  in  such  a  state,  through 
former  habits  of  intoxication,  that  he  can  not  use 
these  things  without  abusing  them,  or  because  he 
can  not  conveniently  obtain  them,  or  because  he  has 
no  inclination  for  them.  But,  if  he  abstain  because 
he  regards  the  use  of  them,  either  per  se  or  per 
accidens,  either  in  themselves  or  in  their  accompani- 
ments, involving  immorality,  he  brings  a  charge 
against  the  wisdom  and  benevolence  of  God,  who 
has  ordained  and  approved  their  use,  and  therefore 
contemns  God. 

This  may  be  illustrated  by  a  parallel  case.  God 
gave  to  our  race,  in  Noah,  the  use  of  animal  food. 
"  Every  moving  thing  that  liveth  shall  be  meat  for 
you,  even  as  the  green  herb  have   I  given   you  all 


86  SERMONS. 


things." — Gen.  ix.,  3.  Now,  persons  in  a  fever  ought 
not  to  eat  it ;  and  millions  of  our  race  can  not  obtain 
it ;  but  those  who  shall  say  that  it  is  universally- 
improper  to  use  it,  with  the  Grahamites  and  the 
Encratites,  or  suppose  there  is  peculiar  holiness  in 
not  using  it,  with  the  Brahmins,  nullify,  as  far  as  in 
them  lies,  a  divine  institution,  and  set  themselves 
up  as  wiser  and  more  benevolent  than  God.  An- 
other illustration  may  be  drawn  from  the  institution 
of  marriage.  There  have  been  individuals  who, 
from  various  causes,  were  not  under  any  obligation 
to  marry  ;  but  whoever  should  refrain  on  the  ground 
that  either  in  itself  or  in  its  tendencies  it  involved 
immorality,  would  thereby  set  himself  against  the 
Most  High,  *'  all  whose  works  are  truth  and  his  ways 
judgment,  and  those  that  walk  in  pride  he  is  able  to 
abase." 

The  question,  then,  is,  as  expressed  by  the  Na- 
tional Temperance  Convention,  and  more  or  less 
clearly  by  total  abstinence  societies  and  individu- 
als, ^^  Are  all  men  everyzvhere  under  solemn  moral 
obligation  to  cease  forever  from  the  manufacture,  sale, 
and  use,  as  a  beverage,  of  all  intoxicating  drinks  f 

They  assert,  and  I  deny.  I  am  opposed  to  this 
doctrine,  for  the  following  reasons  : 

1st.  Because,  so  far  from  being  the  Christian 
grace  of  temperance,  or  any  part  of  it,  or  of  any 
other  grace  or  duty  of  the  followers  of  Jesus,  it  is 
a  profane  and  presumptuous  attempt  to  set  aside 
an  institution  of  God,  the  fruit  of  his  wisdom   and 


TEMPERANCE,  87 


love.  The  same  act  cannot  be  at  the  same  time  a 
duty  and  a  sin  ;  the  one  excludes  the  other.  If  it 
be  a  moral  obligation  to  abstain,  it  is  a  sin  to  use. 
But  the  Most  High  God  has  furnished  these  very 
drinks /^r  the  use  of  man,  2.w6.  as  an  expression  of 
his  far-seeing  wisdom,  his  paternal  love.  The  in- 
spired psalmist  refers  to  these  very  things,  in  cele- 
brating, in  his  loftiest  strains,  the  glory  of  the  Di- 
vine wisdom  and  benevolence :  "  He  causeth  the 
grass  to  grow  for  the  cattle,  and  herb  for  the  ser- 
vice of  man,  that  he  may  bring  forth  food  out  of  the 
earth,  and  wine  that  niaketh  glad  the  heart  of  man, 
and  oil  to  make  his  face  to  shine,  and  bread  which 
strengtheneth  man's  heart." — Psalm  civ.,  14,  15. 

Nothing  is  here  said  about  diseases,  or  medicines, 
or  religious  rites.  The  whole  theme  is  the  common 
bounties  of  divine  Providence,  and  the  wine  that 
maketh  glad  the  heart  is  placed  between  the  grass 
and  the  herb,  and  the  oil  and  the  bread.  Nothing, 
therefore,  can  be  plainer  to  any  candid  and  unso- 
phisticated mind,  than  that  the  mind  of  the  Na- 
tional Temperance  Convention  is  at  perfect  antipo- 
des with  the  mind  of  the  Spirit.  He  never  could 
have  celebrated,  as  a  fruit  of  his  glorious  wisdom 
and  love,  what  it  were  sin  for  his  creatures  to  use, 
for  the  very  purpose  for  which  it  was  given.  The 
obvious  meaning  of  this  passage  is  but  the  common 
voice  of  sacred  Scripture  :  *'  Thou  hast  put  gladness 
into  my  heart,  more  than  in  the  time  that  their  corn 
and  their  wine    increased "   (Psalm  iv.,    7) ;   where 


SERMONS, 


wine  and  corn,  the  representatives  of  earthly  bless- 
ings, are  less  valued  than  the  light  of  God's  counte- 
nance. 

Again,  the  prophet  Habakkuk,  in  declaring  that 
when  the  streams  of  created  enjoyment  are  dried  up, 
God  is  alone  a  sufficient  portion,  reckons  the  fruit 
of  the  vine  among  the  ordinary  blessings  of  life. 
''Although  the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom,  neither 
shall  be  fruit  in  the  vines,  the  labor  of  the  olive  shall 
fail,  and  the  fields  shall  yield  no  meat,  the  flock 
shall  be  cut  off  from  the  fold,  and  there  shall  be  no 
herd  in  the  stalls,  yet  I  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  I 
will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation." — Hab.  iii.,  17, 
18.  Jotham,  in  his  apologue,  introduces  the  vine 
as  saying,  *'  Shall  I  leave  my  wine  which  cheereth 
God  and  man?" — Judges  ix.,  13.  It  pleaseth  man 
in  its  ordinary  use,  and  God  is  pleased  with  it  when 
offered  in  thanksgiving  sacrifices  unto  him,  as  ex- 
pressing the  gratitude  of  his  people  for  his  gifts. 

The  Levite  says,  *'  There  is  bread  and  wine  for  me 
and  for  thine  handmaid  and  for  the  young  man  that 
is  with  thy  servants." — Judges  xix.,  19.  It  was  one 
of  the  common  products  of  the  land  of  promise,  and 
formed  part  of  the  living  of  the  people.  "  The  floor 
and  the  press  shall  not  feed  them." — Hosea  ix.,  2. 
"  Even  all  the  Jews  returned  out  of  all  places  whither 
they  were  driven,  and  came  to  the  land  of  Judah,  to 
Gedaliah,  unto  Mizpah,  and  gathered  wine  and  sum- 
mer fruits  very  much. — Jer.  xl.,  12.  The  Lord  says 
of  Israel  by  the  prophet  :    *'  For  she  did  not  know 


TEMPERANCE.  89 

that  I  gave  her  corn  and  wine  and  oil." —  Hosea  ii., 
8.  The  good  Samaritan  used  for  the  wounds  of  the 
man  that  had  fallen  among  thieves,  the  oil  and  wine 
which  formed  part  of  the  provision  for  his  own  jour- 
ney. And  Paul  declares,  in  relation  to  this  very- 
subject  :  "  Every  creature  of  God  is  good,  and  noth- 
ing to  be  refused  if  it  be  received  with  thanksgiv- 
ing ;  for  it  is  sanctified  by  the  word  of  God  and 
prayer." — I  Tim.  iv.,  4,  5.  The  word  of  God  then 
having  declared  the  use  of  these  things  to  be  good 
and  right,  it  is  profane  and  presumptuous  in  any 
body  of  men  to  declare  them  evil  and  wrong. 
"  What  God  hath  cleansed,  that  call  not  thou  com- 
mon."— Acts  X.,  15. 

2d.  Because,  while  the  American  Temperance 
Convention  represents  all  intoxicating  drinks,  and 
wine  amongst  the  rest,  as  so  great  evils  that  it  is  the 
solemn  duty  of  all  men  forever  to  abstain  from  their 
use  as  a  beverage,  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  in  describ- 
ing the  future  history  of  the  chosen  people,  repre- 
sents the  bestowing  of  wine  in  abundance  as  a  sign 
of  the  Divine  favor,  and  a  prosperous  state,  but  the 
withholding  of  it,  of  his  displeasure,  and  a  calami- 
tous state  of  national  affairs. 

When  the  Patriarch  Jacob  in  the  spirit  blessed  his 
sons,  he  spake  of  Judah  thus  :  "  Binding  his  foal 
unto  the  vine,  and  his  asses*  colt  unto  the  choice 
vine,  he  washed  his  garments  in  wine,  and  his 
clothes  in  the  blood  of  grapes.  His  eyes  shall  be 
red  with  wine,  and  his  teeth  white  with  milk." — 


90  SERMONS. 


Gen.  xlix.,  ii,  12.  "  For  she  did  not  know  that  I 
gave  her  corn  and  wine  and  oil,  and  multiplied  her 
silver  and  gold,  which  they  prepared  for  Baal ;  there- 
fore will  I  return,  and  take  away  my  corn  in  the 
time  thereof,  and  my  wine  in  the  season  thereof,  and 
I  will  recover  my  wool  and  my  flax,  given  her  to 
cover  her  nakedness." —  Hosea  ii.,  8,  9.  Again,  in 
predicting  times  of  temporal  and  spiritual  prosper- 
ity :  "  Therefore  behold,  1  will  allure  her,  and  bring 
her  into  the  wilderness,  and  speak  comfortably  unto 
her :  and  I  will  give  her  her  vineyards  from  thence." 
— Hosea  ii.,  14,  15.  "And  the  earth  shall  hear  the 
corn,  and  the  wine,  and  the  oil,  and  they  shall  hear 
Jezreel." — ii.,  22.  Then  follow  these  threatenings  : 
"  The  floor  and  the  wine-press  shall  not  feed  them, 
and  the  new  wine  shall  fail  in  her.  They  shall  not 
offer  wine  offerings  unto  the  Lord,  neither  shall  they 
be  pleasing  unto  him." — ix.,  2,  4.  "  Lament  like  a 
viigin  girded  with  sackcloth  for  the  husband  of  her 
youth.  The  meat  offering  and  the  drink  offering  is 
cut  off  from  the  house  of  the  Lord.  The  priests, 
the  Lord's  ministers,  mourn.  The  field  is  wasted  ; 
the  land  mourneth  ;  for  the  corn  is  wasted,  the  new 
wine  is  dried  np,  the  oil  languisheth." — Joel  i.,  8,  9, 
10.  How  different  is  his  description  of  times  of 
prosperity:  "  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day 
that  the  mountains  shall  drop  dow?i  new  zuine,  and 
the  hills  shall  flow  with  milk,  and  all  the  rivers  of 
Judah  shall  flow  with  waters,  and  a  fountain  shall 
come  forth  out  of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  shall 


TEMPERA  NCR.  9 1 


water  the  valley  of  Shittim." — iii.,  i8.  Amos  sings 
in  similar  strains  the  prosperity  of  the  latter  days  : 
''  Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  the 
plowman  shall  overtake  the  reaper,  and  the  treader 
of  grapes  him  that  soweth  seed,  and  the  mountains 
shall  drop  down  sweet  wine,  and  all  the  hills  shall 
melt.  And  I  will  bring  again  the  captivity  of  my 
people-  Israel,  and  they  shall  build  the  waste  cities 
and  inhabit  them,  and  \.\\q.y  ^\d\\  plant  vineyards  dsvdi 
drink  the  wine  thereof ;  they  shall  also  make  gardens 
and  eat  the  fruit  of  them.  And  I  will  plant  them 
upon  their  land  which  I  have  given  them,  and  they 
shall  no  more  be  pulled  up  out  of  their  land  which  I 
have  given  them,  saith  the  Lord  thy  God." — Amos 
ix.,  13,  15. 

Is  it  not  a  strange  way  of  describing  the  great 
prosperity  of  a  land  by  representing  it  as  abound- 
ing in  the  production  of  that  whose  tendencies  are 
every  way  evil  to  all  the  interests  of  man,  and  which 
it  is  the  solemn  moral  duty  of  every  man  neither  to 
make  nor  to  use,  in  the  principal  way  in  which  it 
must  be  used,  if  used  at  all,  as  a  beverage  ?  It 
evinces  a  fearful  hardihood  in  men  professing  to 
respect  the  Bible,  thus  openly  to  contradict  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

3.  Because  it  represents  one  of  the  elements  and 
materials  in  which  God  and  his  worshiping  people 
have  fellowship,  and  which  he  has  commanded  to 
be  used  to  his  honor,  in  the  courts  of  his  holiness, 
as^full  of  all  evil  tendencies  for  soul  and  body,  for 


92  SERMONS. 


time  and  eternity.  Wine  was  a  part  of  the  offerings 
to  God  as  an  acknowledgment  of  his  goodness  in 
giving  the  fruits  of  the  ground  for  the  good  of  man. 
''And  the  fourth  part  of  a  hin  of  witie  for  a  drink 
offering  shalt  thou  prepare  with  the  burnt-offering 
or  sacrifice  for  one  lamb." — Num.  xv.,  5.  *'  And  for 
a  drink-offering  thou  shalt  offer  the  third  part  of  a 
hin  of  wine  for  a  sweet  savor  unto  the  Lord." — 7. 
Being  devoted  to  God,  it  was  a  part  of  the  perqui- 
sites of  the  priests.  ''  All  the  best  of  the  oil  and 
all  the  best  of  the  zviue  and  of  the  wheat,  the  first 
fruits  of  them,  which  they  shall  offer  unto  the  Lord  : 
them  have  I  given  thee." — Num.  xviii.,  12.  ''  The 
Lord  hath  sworn  by  his  right  hand,  and  by  the  arm 
of  his  strength,  Surely  I  will  no  more  give  thy  corn 
to  be  meat  for  thine  enemies,  and  the  sons  of  the 
strangers  shall  not  drink  thy  wine  for  the  which  thou 
hast  labored  ;  but  they  that  have  gathered  it  shall 
eat  it  and  praise  the  Lord,  and  they  that  have 
brought  it  together  shall  drink  it  in  the  courts  of 
my  holiness." — Isaiah  Ixii.,  8,  9.  Our  Lord  Jesus 
has  continued  its  use  under  the  New  Testament  to 
the  end  of  time.  "  And  he  gave  thanks  and  gave  it 
to  them,  saying.  Drink  ye  all  of  it,  for  this  is  my 
blood  of  the  New  Testament,  which  is  shed  for 
the  remission  of  sins.  But  I  say  unto  you  that  I 
will  not  drink  henceforth  of  this  fruit  of  the  vine, 
until  I  drink  it  new  with  you  in  my  Father's  king- 
dom."— Matt,  xxvi.,  27,  29.  Now  I  say  it  is  worse 
than  absurd,  to  assert   that   an  element  so  full  of 


TEMPERANCE.  93 


deadly  evil  should  have  been  appointed  by  that 
Saviour  whose  every  institution  and  every  action 
did  but  body  forth  the  great  principle  of  love,  to 
be  the  emblem  of  his  blood,  by  which  our  souls 
live  unto  God  forever.  How  monstrous  the  incon- 
gruity !  While  the  bread  which  nourishes  the  body 
by  a  beautiful  analogy  illustrates  the  benefits  we 
receive  from  the  broken  body  of  Him  who  is  the 
bread  of  eternal  life,  the  other  element  represented 
by  this  dogma  as  the  very  concentration  of  all  evil 
has  more  analogy  to  everything  in  the  universe 
than  to  that  precious  blood  of  Christ,  by  which 
our  souls  are  ransomed  from  eternal  woes.  The 
inevitable  consequence  of  this  doctrine,  if  gener- 
ally adopted,  will  be  to  nullify  the  ordinance  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  by  removing  one  of  the  divinely  ap- 
pointed signs — the  cup — the  wine.  This  tendency 
is  seen  already,  and  some  congregations  have  actu- 
ally banished  the  wine  from  this  memorial  of  the 
Saviour's  death.  The  history  of  this  heresy  will 
show  that  one  of  these  errors  involves  the  other, 
and  that  those  who  begin  by  denouncing  wine  as  a 
beverage,  finish  their  work  by  banishing  it  from  the 
table  of  the  Lord. 

4.  Because  this  dogma  is  the  identical  heresy  of 
Ebeon  Marcion,  the  Encratites  and  Aquarians  of 
the  second,  third,  and  fifth  centuries.  It  is  a  her- 
esy which,  after  rotting  in  its  grave  for  fourteen 
hundred  years,  it  is  now  attempted  to  raise  from  the 
dead  and  palm   upon   the  Christian   church  as  the 


94  SERMONS. 


grace  of  temperance.  If  this  be  temperance,  the 
church  of  God  has  never  known  what  temperance 
is.  In  the  days  of  inspiration  it  was  not  so  much 
as  mentioned,  save  in  describing  by  the  spirit  of 
prophecy  the  apostacy  of  the  latter  days ;  and  when 
offered  in  after-times  to  the  church,  with  one  voice 
it  was  rejected  by  all  but  heretics,  who  were  never 
regarded  as  any  part  of  the  true  Christian  church. 
And  to  this  day  not  a  denomination  on  earth  has 
adopted  it.  A  few  congregations  have,  but  they 
are  no  more  the  church  than  a  noisy  political  cabal 
of  discontented  and  disorderly  men  is  the  state. 
By  the  united  voice,  then,  of  the  whole  church  of 
God  in  the  days  of  inspiration,  and  ever  since,  this 
doctrine  of  the  self-styled  American  Temperance 
Convention  is  a  vile  and  pernicious  heresy.  Its 
origin  is  base  and  its  company  is  evil.  In  Bingham's 
"Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church,"  book  15, 
chap.  2,  sect.  7,  its  origin  is  given  :  "  The  other  part 
of  the  sacrament  zvas  always  ivine,  and  that  taken  also 
out  of  the  oblations  of  the  people.  Some  of  the 
ancient  heretics,  under  pretence  of  abstinence  and 
temperance,  changed  this  element  into  water,  and 
consecrated  in  water  only.  These  were  some  of 
them  disciples  of  Ebeon,  and  some  of  them  the  fol- 
lowers of  Tatian  commonly  called  Hydroperastatse 
and  Aquarii,  from  the  use  of  water,  and  sometimes 
Encratitae,  from  their  abstaining  wholly  from  flesh 
and  wine.  And  this  seems  to  have  been  the  ground 
of  their  errors,  that  they  thought   it   universally  un- 


l^EMPERANCE.  95 


lawful  to  eat  flesh  or  to  drink  wi?te.  Under  this 
character  they  are  frequently  condemned  by  Epipha- 
nius,  who  terms  them  Encratites  [Epiph.  Haer.  46, 
Encratit.  Haer.  30,  Ebeonite,  n.  16]  and  by  St. 
Augustine,  under  the  name  of  Aquarians  [Aug.  de 
Haeres,  cap.  64],  and  by  Theodoret,  who  says 
they  sprang  from  Tatian,  and  were  called  Hydro- 
perastatae,  because  they  offered  water  instead  of 
wine,  and  Encratitae,  because  they  wholly  ab- 
stained from  wine  and  living  creatures.  [Theod. 
de  Fabulis  Haeret.  lib.  i,  cap  20.]  St.  Chry- 
sostom  calls  it  the  pernicious  heresy  of  those 
that  used  only  water  in  their  mysteries,  whereas 
our  Lord  instituted  them  in  wine,  and  drank  wine 
at  his  common  table  after  the  resurrection,  to  pre- 
vent the  budding  of  this  wicked  heresy  [p.  165,  166.] 
Eusebius,  quoting  Irenaeus,  says :  **  Those  that 
sprung  from  Saturninus  and  Marcion,  called  the 
Encratites,  proclaimed  abstinence  from  marriage, 
setting  aside  the  original  design  of  God  and  tacitly 
censuring  him  that  made  male  and  female  for  the 
propagation  of  the  human  race."  They  also  intro- 
duced the  abstinence  from  things  called  ^^ animate^ 
with  them,  displaying  ingratitude  to  God  who  made 
all  things."  Buck,  in  his  Theological  Dictionary, 
vol.  I,  p.  142,  describes  the  Encratites  as  "  a  sect  in 
the  second  century,  who  abstained  from  marriage, 
wine,  and  animals."  Marcionites,  vol  2.  p.  38 : 
**  Marcionites,  or  Marcionists,  Marcionistae,  a  very 
ancient  and  popular  sect  of  heretics,  who,  in  the 


96  SERMONS. 


time  of  Epiphanius,  were  spread  over  Italy,  Egypt, 
Palestine,  Syria,  Arabia,  Persia  and  other  countries. 
They  were  thus  denominated  from  their  author 
Marcion. 

He  laid  down  twc3  principles,  the  one  good,  the 
other  evil ;  between  these,  he  imagined  an  inter- 
mediate kind  of  Deity,  of  a  mixed  nature,  who  was 
the  creator  of  this  inferior  world,  and  the  God  and 
legislator  of  the  Jewish  nation.  The  other  nations, 
who  worshiped  a  variety  of  gods,  were  supposed 
to  be  under  the  empire  of  the  evil  principle.  These 
two  conflicting  powers  exercise  oppressions  upon 
rational  and  immortal  souls ;  and  therefore  the 
Supreme  God,  to  deliver  them  from  bondage,  sent 
to  the  Jews  a  being  more  like  unto  himself,  even  his 
Son,  Jesus  Christ,  clothed  with  a  certain  shadowy 
resemblance  of  a  body  ;  this  celestial  messenger  was 
attacked  by  the  prince  of  darkness,  and  by  the  God 
of  the  Jews,  but  without  effect.  Those  who  follow 
the  directions  of  this  celestial  conductor  mortify  the 
body  by  fastings  and  austerities,  and  renounce  the 
precepts  of  the  God  of  the  Jews,  and  of  the  prince 
of  darkness  ;  and  after  death  ascend  to  the  man- 
sions of  felicity  and  perfection." 

The  rule  of  manners  which  Marcion  prescribed  to 
his  followers  was  excessively  austere,  containing  an 
express  prohibition  of  wedlock^  wine,  fleshy  and  all  the 
external  comforts  of  life, 

"  Marcion  denied  the  real  birth,  incarnation,  and 
passion  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  held  them  to  be  apparent 


TEMPERANCE.  97 


only.  He  denied  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and 
allowed  none  to  be  baptized  but  those  who  preserved 
their  continence ;  but  these  he  granted  to  be  bap- 
tized three  times.  In  many  things  he  followed  the 
sentiments  of  the  heretic  Cerdon,  and  rejected  the 
law  and  the  prophets.  He  pretended  the  gos- 
pel had  been  corrupted  by  false  prophets,  and 
allowed  none  of  the  evangelists  but  St.  Luke,  whom 
also  he  altered  in  many  places,  as  well  as  the  epistles 
of  St  Paul,  a  great  many  things  in  which  he  threw 
out.  In  his  own  copy  of  St.  Luke,  he  threw  out  the 
first  two  chapters  entire." — Buck's  Theological 
Dictionary. 

Tatian,  one  of  their  founders,  according  to 
Milnor,  Ch.  Hist.,  vol.  i,  p.  213,  '*  deserved  the  name 
of  heretic.  He  dealt  largely  in  the  merits  of  con- 
tinence and  charity  ;  and  these  virtues,  pushed  into 
extravagant  excesses,  under  the  notion  of  superior 
purity,  became  great  engines  of  self-righteousness 
and  superstition,  obscured  men's  views  of  the  faith 
of  Christ,  and  darkened  the  whole  face  of  Christian- 
ity. Under  the  fostering  hand  of  Ammonius  and 
his  followers,  this  fictitious  holiness,  disguised  under 
the  appearance  of  eminent  sanctity,  was  formed  into 
a  system,  and  it  soon  began  to  generate  the  worst 
of  evils." 

The  verdict  of  the  whole  church  of  God  during 
and  since  the  days  of  inspiration  is,  that  this  doc- 
trine of  the  immorality  of  using  wine  as  a  beverage 
IS  a  heresy,  the  daughter  of  supersti'tion  and  self- 


98  SERMONS. 


righteousness,  the  twin  sister  of  total  abstinence 
from  marriage  and  animal  food,  and  the  parent  of 
total  abstinence  from  wine  at  Lord's  Supper,*  and 
of  soul-destroying  darkness  and  delusion,  which 
obscitred the  whole  face  ^/Christianity,  and  *'  gener- 
ated the  worst  of  evils." 

5.  Because  the  doctrine  of  the  convention  is  one 
of  the  distinguishing  tenets  of  the  false  prophet  of 

*  The  following  advertisement  from  the  New  York  Observer 
is  an  alarming  proof  of  the  tendency  of  this  doctrine.  It  ex- 
hibits some  of  its  most  distinguished  advocates  openly  engaged 
with  all  the  influence  which  their  connection  with  this  question 
can  give  them,  in  corrupting  one  of  the  most  solemn  ordinances 
of  our  holy  religion  in  removing  the  wme  from  the  Supper  of 
the  Lord  and  substituting  a  matter  of  human  invention  in  its 
place : 

"  Unfermented  Wine. — D.  Pomeroy,  Jr.,  No.  47  Water 
St.,  offers  for  sale  a  superior  article  of  Unfermented  Juice  of  the 
Grape.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  syrup,  and  so  concentrated  as  to 
avoid  fermentation.  It  retains  much,  if  not  all,  the  flavor  of  the 
grape,  and  is  decidedly  better  than  any  article  which  has 
hitherto  been  offered.  Directions  for  diluting  it  accompany 
each  bottle.  For  the  convenience  of  those  churches  and  indi- 
viduals who  may  wish  to  order  it  by  letter,  and  enclose  the 
money,  it  will  be  put  up  in  different  sized  bottles,  and  packed 
in  cases,  which  may  be  had  at  five,  ten,  and  twenty  dollars 
each ;  and  can  be  safely  transported  to  any  part  of  the  country. 
All  such  orders,  post  paid,  will  be  promptly  attended  to. 
New  York,  July  21,  1841. 

"  The  following  testimonials  have  been  furnished  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Marsh  and  Edward  C.  Delavan,  Esq : 

"  I  have  paid  some  attention  to  the  unfermented  juice  of  the 


TEMPERANCE.  99 


Mecca,  one  of  the  points  of  difference  between  the 
Koran  and  the  Bible,  between  Mahomet  and  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord.  We  have  seen  how  utterly  irrecon- 
cilable the  dogma  of  the  convention  is  with  the 
doctrine  of  the  Bible  of  the  Christian.  There  is  no 
such  discrepancy  between  it  and  the  teaching  of  the 
Alcoran,  the  Bible  of  the  Mussulman.  Hearken  to 
its  voice.  Thus  it  speaks:  '*  They  will  ask  thee  con- 
cerning wine  and  lots.     Answer,   in    both   there   is 

grape,  which  Mr.  Pomeroy  offers  to  the  churches  for  commun- 
ion wine.  It  certainly  is  a  beautiful  and  delicious  article,  and 
evidently  free  from  that  maddening  quality  which,  in  fermented 
wines,  is  so  destructive  to  the  souls  and  bodies  of  men.  If  it 
can  be  generally  introduced  into  the  churches,  so  that  the  peo- 
ple of  God  shall  no  longer  in  this  holy  ordinance  contribute  to  the 
support  of  alcoholic  manufacturers,  a  great  and  important  ad- 
vance will  be  made  in  the  cause  of  temperance  ;  an  advance  now 
loudly  called  for  by  the  reform  of  more  than  ten  thousand 
drunkards,  many  of  whom  we  hope  to  see  at  the  table  of  Christ, 
and  none  of  whom  can  with  safety  take  into  their  lips  the  in- 
toxicating principle. 

"'John  Marsh,  Sec.  Am.  Temp.  Union.' 

"'Ballston  Centre,  July  29,  1841. 

" '  I  most  cheerfully  add  my  testimony  to  that  of  Mr.  Marsh. 
The  sample  of  the  '  Fruit  of  the  Vine,'  free  from  the  poison  of 
alcohol,  which  you  have  been  so  kind  as  to  send  me,  is  not  only 
beautiful  but  delicious.  And  I  pray  God  that  the  Christians  of 
our  land,  and  of  other  lands,  may,  with  a  united  voice,  demand 
the  '  Fruit  of  the  Vine,'  free  from  fermentation,  in  place  of  the 
alcohol  and  drugged  poisons,  which  have  so  long  held  their 
station  on  the  table  of  the  Lord.  EDWARD  C.   Delavan. 

"'New  York,  July  21,  1841.'  " 


100  SERMONS. 


great  sin,  and  also  some  things  of  use  unto  men,  but 
their  sinfulness  is  greater  than  their  use." — Sale's 
Koran,  chap.  2,  p.  39.  Hear  it  again,  as  the  pre- 
tended inspiration  becomes  more  distinct  and  decided: 
"■  O  true  believers,  surely  wijze,  and  lots,  and  ima- 
ges, and  divining  arrows  are  an  abomination,  and 
of  the  work  of  Satan,  therefore  avoid  them  that  ye 
may  prosper ;  Satan  seeketh  to  sow  dissension  and 
hatred  among  you  by  means  of  wine  and  lots,  and 
to  divert  you  from  remembering  God,  and  from 
prayer.  Will  you  not,  therefore,  abstain  from 
them  ?  " — chap.  5,  p.  149.  From  what  follows,  it  ap- 
pears that  this  prohibition  had  not  been  binding 
even  in  the  view  of  Mahomet,  until  now  that  it  is 
made — '*  In  those  that  believe  and  do  good  works, 
it  is  no  sin  that  they  have  tasted  wine  or  gaming 
before  they  were  forbidden^ — Ibid.  Sale,  the  learned 
translator  of  the  Koran,  says  :  **  The  drinking  of 
wine,  under  which  name  all  sorts  of  strong  and  ine- 
briating liquors  are  comprehended,  is  forbidden  in 
the  Koran  in  more  places  than  one.  Some  indeed 
have  imagined  that  excess  therein  is  only  forbidden, 
and  that  the  moderate  use  of  wine  is  allowed  by  two 
passages  in  the  same  book.  But  the  more  received 
opinion  is,  that  to  drink  any  strong  liquors,  either 
in  a  lesser  quantity  or  in  a  greater,  is  absolutely  un- 
lawful ;  and  though  libertines  indulge  themselves  in 
the  contrary  practices,  the  more  conscientious  are  so 
strong,  especially  if  they  have  performed  the  pil- 
grimage to   Mecca,  that   they  hold   it  unlawful  not 


TEMPERANCE.  loi 


only  to  taste  wine,  but  to  press  grapes  for  the  making 
of  it,  to  buy  or  to  sell  it,  or  even  to  maintain  them- 
selves with  the  money  arising  by  the  sale  of  that 
liquor."  Here,  -then  we  have  the  doctrine  of  total 
abstinence  contained  in  a  book  claiming  to  be  a  reve- 
lation from  heaven,  and  enforced  by  a  spiritual  and 
political  despotism  second  to  none  on  the  earth, 
and  that  doctrine  resting  upon  the  same  kind  of 
reasons  of  those  given  by  the  American  Temperance 
Convention  at  Saratoga.  How  little  such  legislation 
can  do  to  promote  morality  is  seen  on  a  large  scale 
in  the  history  of  the  Turks,  the  greatest  sensualists 
on  earth,  and  stupid  and  dazed  with  the  intoxicating 
fumes  of  opium,  and  even  of  wine  and  brandy.  The 
author  just  mentioned  goes  on  to  state  what  proves 
that  it  is  an  acknowledged  point  of  difTerence  be- 
tween Mahometanism  and  Christianity,  and  that  it 
has  utterly  failed  of  producing  the  effects  which  it 
promises.  "  The  Persians,  however,  as  well  as  the 
Turks,  are  very  fond  of  wine  :  and  if  one  asks  them 
how  it  comes  to  pass  that  they  venture  to  drink  it, 
when  it  is  so  directly  forbidden  by  their  religion, 
they  answer  that  it  is  with  them  as  with  Christians, 
whose  religion  prohibits  drunkenness  and  whore- 
dom as  great  sins,  and  who  glory  notwithstanding, 
some  in  debauching  girls  and  married  women,  and 
others  in  drinking  to  excess." — Sale's  Koran,  vol.  i., 

p.  163. 

Here,  then,  is  a  point  of  difference  between  the 
Koran  and  the  Bible  ;  the  Convention  declares  in  the 


SERMONS. 


face  of  the  world  that  the  Koran  is,  in  this  respect, 
better  than  the  Bible. 

And  has  it  come  to  this,  that  in  this  professedly 
Christian  community  it  is  necessary  to  argue  the 
question,  which  you  should  prefer — the  Koran  or 
the  Bible, — the  Arabian  impostor,  or  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  ?  Oh,  my  Lord  Jesus !  what  wilt  thou  do 
for  thy  great  name  when  thy  rival  is  preferred  before 
thee,  when  his  institutions  are  applauded  for  their  be- 
nevolence, and  wisdom,  and  efficiency,  and  thine  are 
charged  with  all  manner  of  evil  ?  Who  is  on  the 
Lord's  side?     Who? 

6.  I  am  opposed  to  that  position  which  is  taken 
by  the  Convention,  because  it  brings  a  criminal 
charge  against  all  men  who  use  now,  or  ever  have 
used,  wine  as  a  beverage.  If  its  tendencies  are  so 
evil  as  to  involve  a  moral  obligation  entirely  to 
abstain  from  its  manufacture,  sale,  or  use,  as  a  bev- 
erage ;  then,  as  these  tendencies  have  always  existed, 
the  moral  obligation  has  existed  also,  and  those  who 
have  not  complied  with  this  obligation  have  sinned. 
Who  are  these  sinners? 

Melchisedek,  the  most  illustrious  type  of  the  Great 
High  Priest  of  our  profession,  and  Abraham  the  fa- 
ther of  the  faithful.  "And  Melchisedek  king  of 
Salem  brought  forth  bread  and  wine  ;  and  he  was 
the  priest  of  the  Most  High  God.  And  he  blessed 
him,  and  said,  Blessed  be  Abram  of  the  most  high 
God,  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth."  Gen.  xiv., 
i8,  19.     As  no  mention  is  made  of  sacrifices,  the 


TEMPERANCE.  103 


wine  was  used  in  the  manner  common  to  that  coun- 
try, together  with  the  bread,  for  the  refreshment  of 
Abraham  and  his  men  after  their  toilsome  march. 
What  a  disgraceful  scene  is  here  enacted  by  the 
royal  priest  and  the  illustrious  patriarch,  the  only 
time  they  are  ever  said  to  have  met  on  earth,  if  total 
abstinence  be  law.  But  one  syllable  of  rebuke  for 
their  sin,  the  Bible  nowhere  contains.  The  tribe 
of  Judah  and  the  wine  with  which  their  portion 
was  blessed.  David  receives  a  present  of  wine 
among  other  provisions  from  Abigail  ;  and  when  he 
brought  the  Ark  to  the  place  which  he  had  pre- 
pared for  it,  he  dealt  among  all  the  people,  "  even 
among  the  whole  multitude  of  Israel,  as  well  to 
the  women  as  men,  to  every  one  a  cake  of  bread, 
and  a  good  piece  of  flesh,  and  a  flagon  of  wine." 
2  Sam.  vi.,  19. 

Daniel  used  wine  ;  for,  in  stating  how  he  mourned 
three  full  weeks,  he  says,  '*  I  ate  no  pleasant 
bread,  neither  came  flesh  nor  wine  in  my  mouth ; 
neither  did  I  anoint  myself  at  all  ;  till  three  whole 
weeks  were  fulfilled."  Daniel,  x.,  2,3.  If  he  had  not 
used  wine  at  all,  it  had  been  improper  to  state  hi? 
abstinence  from  it  for  three  weeks,  as  a  sign  of  his 
mourning.  The  doctrine  of  total  abstinence  would 
charge  upon  three  eminent  and  holy  men,  that  they 
were  friends  to  intemperance,  whereas  the  uniform 
language  of  holy  Scripture,  as  has  been  shown, 
proves  that  they  acted,  in  this  respect,  in  perfect 
consistency  with  all  their  obligations  to  God  and 


I04  SERMONS. 


to  man.     But  to  charge  sin,  where  it  is  not,  is  cal- 
umny. 

7.  This  wonderful  discovery,  which  is  thought  by 
its  advocates  to  throw  into  the  shade,  nay,  to  reduce 
to  very  nothingness  all  that  had  been  known  or  done 
before,  is  described  by  the  pen  of  inspiration  as  part 
of  the  portraiture  of  the  grand  apostacy.  *'  Now, 
the  spirit  speaketh  expressly  that,  in  the  latter  times, 
some  shall  depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to  se- 
ducing spirits  and  doctrines  of  demons,  speaking  lies 
in  hypocrisy,  having  their  consciences  seared  as  with 
a  hot  iron,  forbidding  to  marry^  a?id  commanding  to 
abstain  from  meats  zuhicJi  God  hath  created  to  be  re- 
ceived ivith  thanksgiving  of  them  which  believe  and 
know  the  truth,  for  it  is  sanctified  by  the  Word  of 
God  and  prayer." — I  Tim.  iv.,  i,  5.  To  say  that  it 
is  the  duty  of  every  one  to  abstain  is,  to  the  extent 
of  their  authority,  to  command  to  abstain.  Now, 
total  abstinence  societies,  with  the  Convention  at 
their  head,  do  this,  and  enforce  the  mandate  by 
every  influence  which  they  can  bring  to  bear  upon 
the  subject.  And  every  one  who  refuses  implicit 
subjection,  may  lay  his  account  with  every  possible 
annoyance  and  vexation,  with  being  held  up  to 
public  odium  in  public  addresses,  and  by  newspaper 
writers  as  destitute  of  common  honesty,  and  an 
enemy  to  the  morals  and  welfare  of  the  community. 
And,  if  they  had  the  power,  their  whole  history 
shows  that  not  Rome  herself  would  rule  with  greater 
rigor.     Wine,  one  of  the  proscribed  drinks,  is  reck- 


TEMPERA  NCE.  1 05 


oned  in  Sacred  Writ  among  meats  as  part  of  the 
sustenance  of  the  people.  "  The  floor  and  the 
wine-press  shall  not  feed  them." — Hosea  ix.,  2.  This 
temperance  movement,  as  it  is  improperly  called, 
identifies,  in  itself,  one  of  the  features  of  the  grand 
apostacy.  If  it  be  a  sin  for  popery  to  forbid  mar- 
riage to  the  priests,  and  meat  on  Friday,  it  is  a  sin  in 
total  abstinence  societies  to  forbid  wine,  as  a  bever- 
age, totally  and  forever.  It  is  an  impious  invasion  of 
the  prerogative  of  Zion's  King,  to  whom  alone  it 
belongs  to  give  laws  to  the  human  conscience,  to 
presume  to  forbid  what  he  allows.  The  spirit  of 
prophecy  has  impressed  upon  it  the  indelible  brand 
of  his  reprobation  as  apostacy  from  God.  Every 
departure  from  the  faith  is  apostacy  from  the  truth 
and  ways  of  God.  All  who  submit  their  consciences 
to  the  dictation  of  self-constituted  moral  governors 
depart  both  from  the  truth  and  from  the  authorized 
teaching  of  the  church  of  God.  If  this  doctrine  be 
not  a  novelty,  I  ask,  when  was  it  ever  acknowledged 
as  a  law  in  the  Christian  church  ?  Never  !  And  they 
who  do  not  stand  fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  hath  made  them  free,  by  a  vow  either  of  per- 
petual celibacy  or  of  entire  abstinence  from  drinks 
that  if  taken  to  excess  would  intoxicate,  do  throw 
off  the  authority  of  Christ,  and  bow  their  necks  to 
the  yoke  of  another.  They  renounce  in  this  respect 
the  authority  which  Christ  has  given  to  the  church, 
and  submit  to  the  usurped  authority  of  rebellious 
man. 


lo6  SERMONS. 


Either  total  abstinence  men,  or  those  who  refuse 
the  vow,  have  departed  from  the  faith  on  the  point, 
/say  they  who  vow  have  departed,  and  the  time  can 
easily  be  told,  for  a  very  few  years  ago  the  thing 
was  utterly  unknown.  But  if  they  say  we  have 
departed,  I  ask  when  did  we  depart  ?  It  has  been 
shown  that  we  occupy  the  very  ground  v/hich  the 
whole  church  has  occupied,  in  her  whole  history, 
from  the  beginning  to  this  hour.  We  have  not,  then, 
departed  ;  we  stand  where  we  always  did,  and  where 
all  the  prophets  and  apostles  stood,  and  where  also 
stood,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  the  Lord  God  of  the 
Holy  Apostles  and  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ,  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever. 

The  Convention,  therefore,  and  those  who  act 
with  them,  have,  in  this  respect,  identified  them- 
selves with  the  grand  apostacy  of  the  latter  days, 
the  anti-Christ  who  shall  think  to  change  times  and 
laws. — Dan.  vii.,  25.  They  have  entangled  themselves 
in  the  web  of  their  own  sophistries,  they  have 
entered  upon  the  down-hill  course  of  departure  from 
the  truth,  the  ordinances,  and  the  authority  of  the 
church,  and  no  creature  can  tell  where  they  will  stop. 
But  in  my  Master's  name  I  warn  them  not  to  be 
partakers  of  the  sins  of  the  Grand  Apostate,  lest 
they  share  with  her  in  her  plagues. 

8.  I  am  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Conven- 
tion, because  it  turns  the  most  delightful  invitations 
of  the  glorious  gospel  into  a  derision  of  human  woes. 
"And   in  this  mountain  shall  the  Lord   of   Hosts 


TEMPERANCE.  1 07 


make  unto  all  people  a  feast  of  fat  things,  a  feast  of 
wine  on  the  lees ;  of  fat  things  full  of  marrow,  of  wines 
on  the  lees  well  refined." — Isa.  xxv.,  6.  '•  Ho,  every 
one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters  ;  and  he 
that  hath  no  money,  come  ye,  buy  wine  and  milk 
without  money  and  without  price." — Isaiah,  Iv.,  I. 
"  I  am  come  into  my  garden,  my  sister,  my  spouse: 
I  have  gathered  my  myrrh  with  my  spice,  I  have 
eaten  my  honeycomb  with  my  honey  ;  I  have  drunk 
my  wine  with  my  milk:  eat,  O  friends;  drink,  yea, 
drink  abundantly,  O  beloved." — Song  of  Solomon, 
v.,  I.  But  what  is  this  wine?  The  figure,  the  illus- 
tration by  analogy  of  what  is  offered  to  saints  and 
sinners.  If  we  believe  the  Convention,  it  is  a  sub- 
stance whose  tendencies,  physical  and  moral,  are 
so  extremely  pernicious  as  to  make  it  the  solemn 
duty  of  every  man  forever  to  abstain  from  its  use  as 
a  drink.  They  offer,  then,  to  men  in  want  of  every 
good,  and  enduring  all  evil,  as  a  remedy,  that  which 
itself  is  the  source  of  almost  every  evil,  for  time  and 
for  eternity.  When  men  ask  for  bread,  they  give 
them  a  stone:  when  they  ask  for  fish,  they  give 
them  a  serpent.  If  any  of  those  who  adopt  these 
views  should  preach  from  these  texts,  they  must 
tell  their  hearers  that  they  are  under  a  solemn 
moral  obh'gation  not  to  taste  the  remedy  they  offer, 
or  if  they  do  it  will  but  add  fuel  to  the  fire. 

How  large  a  part  of  the  Bible  must  be  banished 
from  its  pages  to  make  it  accord  with  the  splendid 
discoveries  of  the  nineteenth  century  ! 


loS  SERMONS. 


9.  I  am  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  the  American 
Temperance  Convention,  because  it  is  a  deceiver  and 
impostor.  It  claims  to  be  the  Christian  grace  of 
temperance  ;  whereas,  it  has  been  proved  to  be  a 
heresy — a  Mahometan  and  Popish  delusion.  The 
temperance  of  the  Bible  is  a  Christian  grace  wrought 
in  the  heart  by  the  Holy  Spirit;  whereas,  this  pre- 
tender numbers  among  his  converts  thousands,  who 
have  no  experience  of  the  spiritual,  regenerating 
grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  and  many  of  them,  as  all 
the  Unitarians,  deny  that,  as  a  Divine  Person  in  the 
Godhead,  there  is  any  Holy  Spirit. 

According  to  the  Bible,  our  Lord  Jesus  w^as  a  per- 
fectly temperate  man  in  the  spirit  and  tendencies  of 
his  actions,  as  well  as  in  their  form.  He  was  holy, 
harmless,  undefiled,  and  separate  from  sinners  ;  but 
according  to  this  doctrine  he  was  not  fully  temper- 
ate, for  he  drank  wine,  and  furnished  it  for  the  use 
of  others.  Total  abstinence  is  not  synonymous  with 
the  duty  of  temperance,  either  according  to  the 
Bible  or  any  other  book  of  established  authority. 
And  as  the  man,  who  in  civil  society  assumes  the 
name  of  another  for  the  purpose  of  appropriating  to 
himself  the  advantages  coimecLed  with  that  name, 
is  justly  abhorred  as  an  impostor  and  deceiver,  so 
that  doctrine  which,  being  something  entirely  differ- 
ent, and  even  a  distinctive  tenet  of  both  the  eastern 
and  western  Antichrist,  claims  to  be  a  Christian 
grace,  deserves  to  be  treated  as  a  deceiver  and  im- 
postor, and  the  more  decidedly  and  firmly  as  the 


TEMPERANCE.  109 


interests  endangered  are  nothing  less  than  the  whole 
religion  of  Christ. 

10.  The  last  objection  I  have  to  this  doctrine, 
though  not  the  least,  is  that  it  is  implicit  blasphemy 
against  the  Son  of  God. 

If,  as  the  Convention  assert,  the  tendency  of  all 
intoxicating  drinks,  of  which  wine  is  one,  is  so  ex- 
ceedingly bad  as  to  involve  a  solemn  moral  obliga- 
tion in  all  men  to  abstain  entirely  and  forever  from 
their  use  as  a  beverage,  then  those  who  do  not  com- 
ply with  this  obligation  commit  sin.  But  to  charge 
sin  upon  a  divine  person  is  blasphemy.  Now  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  did  use  wine  himself  as  a  bever- 
age, and  furnished  it  as  a  beverage  for  the  use  of 
others.  "  For  John  the  Baptist  came  neither  eating 
bread  nor  drinking  ivine^  and  ye  say  he  hath  a  devil. 
The  Son  of  Man  is  come  eating  and  drinking,  and 
ye  say,  behold  a  man  gluttonous  and  a  wine-bibber, 
a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners." — Luke  vii.,  33. 
From  the  antithesis  between  John  and  his  Master,  it 
evident  that  what  John  did  not,  Jesus  did,  eat  and 
drink  ;  but  John  did  not  eat  bread  nor  drink  wine, 
therefore  Jesus  did  eat  bread  and  drink  wine. 
Again  :  at  the  marriage  in  Cana  of  Galilee,  the 
Lord  Jesus  made  wine  for  the  use  of  others,  and  to 
be  used  neither  as  a  medicine,  nor  for  sacramental 
purposes,  but  as  a  beverage.  "  Jesus  saith  unto 
them,  fill  the  water-pots  with  water,  and  they  filled 
them  up  to  the  brim.  And  he  saith  unto  them, 
draw  out  now,  and  bear  unto  the  governor  of  the 


no  SERMONS. 


feast.  And  they  bare  it.  When  the  ruler  of  the 
feast  had  tasted  the  water  that  was  made  wine,  and 
knew  not  whence  it  was  (but  the  servants  which 
drew  the  water  knew),  the  governor  of  the  feast 
called  the  bridegroom,  and  saith  unto  him,  Every 
man  at  the  beginning  doth  set  forth  good  wine,  and 
when  men  have  well  drunk,  then  that  which  is 
worse;  but  thou  hast  kept  the  good  wine  until 
now." — John  ii.,  7-10.  Here  Jesus  makes  wine  at 
a  marriage,  and  directs  it  when  made  to  be  drawn 
out  for  use, —  and  wine  which  was  accounted  of  the 
very  best  kind.  **  No  man  having  drunk  old  wine, 
straightway  desireth  new,  for  he  saith  the  old  is 
better." — Luke  v.,  39.  There  is  no  demonstration 
in  Euclid  more  certain  than  the  conclusion  from 
these  passages,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  did  drink  wine, 
and  made  it  for  others  to  drink  at  a  marriage,  as  a 
beverage  ;  nor  any  corollary  in  it,  than  this — that  if 
the  Word  be  God,  they  who  make  it  a  sin  to  drink 
wine,  and  to  furnish  it  to  others  to  drink,  blaspheme 
the  Son  of  God. 

We  have  seen,  then,  that  this  doctrine  of  total 
abstinence,  as  a  moral  obligation  resulting  from  the 
tendencies  of  wine,  is  in  total  opposition  to  the  rep- 
resentations of  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  as  given  in 
inspired  song,  in  history,  in  prophetic  oracles,  in 
solemn  and  significant  religious  ordinances,  sacri- 
fices, and  the  Lord's  Supper  ;  that  it  is  identical 
with  a  long  since  exploded  and  pernicious  heresy  ; 
that  in  point  of  distinction  between  the  religion  of 


TEMPERA  NCE.  1 1 1 

the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  that  of  Mahomet,  it  gives 
its  strong  and  decided  preference  for  the  false 
prophet  of  Mecca  ;  that  it  calumniates  the  holiest 
men  that  have  ever  lived,  as  Melchisedek,  and 
Abraham,  and  David,  and  Daniel,  and  the  church  of 
God  in  general  in  the  days  of  inspiration,  and  since  ; 
that  it  is  a  limb  of  Antichrist — a  feature  of  the  pre- 
dicted apostacy  of  the  latter  days;  that  it  turns  into 
a  working  of  human  woe  the  most  delightful  invi- 
tations and  promises  of  the  glorious  gospel  ;  that 
coming  under  the  assumed  name  of  Temperance,  it 
is  a  deceiver ;  and  that  by  obvious  and  necessary 
implication  it  blasphemes  the  Son  of  God.  It  is, 
therefore,  no  part  of  the  grace  of  temperance,  or  of 
any  other  grace,  but  a  deceiver  and  an  Antichrist. 

Any  one  of  these  positions,  which  have  been  es- 
tablished by  abundant  evidence,  if  there  be  any 
proper  reverence  for  the  authority  of  Holy  Writ, 
would  be  perfectly  sufficient  for  the  exploding  of  so 
manifest  and  gross  a  heresy  ;  but  all  of  them  taken 
together  afford  such  a  body  of  evidence,  that  if  they 
are  not  sufficient  to  prove  the  schism  of  total  absti- 
nence as  a  matter  of  moral  obligation  to  be  unscrip- 
tural  and  anti-Christian,  I  defy  any  man  to  prove  any- 
thing out  of  the  Word  of  God.  And  I  charge  every 
person  in  this  assembly,  on  the  authority  of  the  God 
of  the  Bible,  to  look  at  this  subject  as  the  Scriptures 
speak  of  it — to  believe,  and  feel,  and  act,  according 
to  their  teachings,  and  not  according  to  the  tradi- 
tions of  men  who  are  turned  from  the  truth,  and  are 


SERMONS. 


turned  aside  unto  fables.  "  O,  send  out  thy  light 
and  thy  truth ;  let  them  lead  me  ;  let  them  bring 
me  unto  thy  holy  hill,  and  to  thy  tabernacles  ;  then 
will  I  go  unto  the  altar  of  God,  unto  God  my  ex- 
ceeding joy." 


III. 

"The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  .  .  .  temperance." — Gal.  v.,  22,  23. 

THE  conclusion  to  which  we  are  brought  by  the 
preceding  argument  is  rather  confirmed  than 
impaired  by  the  attempts  that  are  made  to  escape 
from  it.  If  words  are  to  be  understood  in  the  sense 
which  uniform  scriptural  usage  has  affixed  to  them ; 
if  a  question,  once  settled  by  numerous  decisions  of 
infallible  authority,  upon  the  very  point,  is  not  to  be 
disturbed  by  general  expressions  in  immediate  con- 
nection with  other  points  ;  and  if  the  word  of  God, 
contained  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  is  the  perfect  as  well  as  infallible  rule 
of  faith  and  of  practice, — then  the  position  taken  by 
the  American  Temperance  Convention  can  not  be 
defended  in  any  consistency  with  due  respect  for  the 
oracles  of  God.  "  Let  God  be  true  but  every  man 
a  liar ;  as  it  is  written,  that  thou  mightest  be  justi- 
fied in  thy  sayings,  and  mightest  overcome  when 
thou  art  judged."  The  first  attempt  to  escape  from 
this  conclusion  is  to  invent  a  distinction  between 
wine  that  would  intoxicate,  and  that  which  would 
not.  This  key  is  thought  by  some  to  unlock  every 
difficulty.  When  wine  was  mentioned  in  connection 
with  intoxication,  and  as  its  cause,  then  intoxicating 

113 


114  SERMONS. 


fermented,  or  alcoholic  wine  was  meant  ;  but  when 
its  use  was  mentioned  with  approbation,  then  un- 
fermented  wine  was  meant.  As  to  the  former  class, 
there  can  be  no  dispute.  *'  And  Noah  began  to  be 
a  husbandman  and  he  planted  a  vineyard  ;  and  he 
drank  of  the  wine  and  was  drunken." — Gen.  ix.,  20, 
21.  "  Therefore,  Eli  thought  she  had  been  drunken. 
And  Eli  said  unto  her,  How  long  wilt  thou  be 
drunken  ?  put  away  thy  wine  from  thee."  If  there 
be  anything  in  this  distinction,  words  expressing 
such  essential  difference  must  not  be  used  indiscrimi- 
nately. The  word  which  expresses  the  wine  which 
intoxicates  must  not  be  used  to  denote  that  which 
may  be  used  with  Divine  approbation.  Let  us  see. 
In  Ps.  civ.,  15,  the  *' wine  which  maketh  glad  his 
(man's)  heart,"  is  celebrated  as  an  expression  of  the 
Divine  beneficence.  So,  also,  Isaiah  Iv.,  i  :  *'  Buy 
wine  and  milk  without  money,  and  without  price." 
What  is  the  difference  in  the  terms  ?  there  is  none 
in  the  translation.  Is  there  any  in  the  original? 
None  at  all.  The  very  same  word,  P"*,  is  used  in  all 
these  cases.  If  names,  then,  are  the  representatives 
of  things,  the  very  same  thing  which  is  intoxicating 
is  used  as  a  beverage  with  Divine  approbation.  This 
distinction,  therefore,  which  the  distressed  advocates 
of  the  heresy  of  the  Encratians  have  invented,  is 
contradicted  by  the  Divine  testimony.  No  such  dis- 
tinction exists  in  the  Bible.  The  translators  of  the 
Bible  were  sciolists,  and  they  have  used  the  common 
term,  wine,  for  all  the  various  terms  used  in  the  origi- 


TEMPERANCE.  Ii5 


nal,  sometimes  prefixing  the  terms  new,  sweet,  and 
mixed,  etc.  Every  one  of  these  terms  expresses  that 
which  is  intoxicating,  and  which  is  yet  used  with  Di- 
vine approbation.  "■  And  I  will  feed  them  that  op- 
press thee  with  their  own  flesh  ;  and  they  shall  be 
drunken  with  their  own  blood,  as  with  sweet  wine," 
D  ^  D y. — Isaiah  xlix.,  26.  And  this  wine  is  spoken  of 
with  rapture  by  the  prophet,  when  predicting  its  abun- 
dance in  the  promised  land  :  **  The  mountains  shall 
drop  down  sweet  wine,  and  all  the  hills  shall  melt." — 
Amos  ix.,  13.  Again  :  "  Awake,  ye  drunkards,  and 
weep ;  and  howl,  all  ye  drinkers  of  wine,  because  of 
the  new  wine  ;  for  it  is  cut  off  from  your  mouth." — 
Joel  i.,  5.  And  the  abundance  of  this  same  wine  is 
predicted  as  a  great  national  blessing.  "  And  it  shall 
come  to  pass  in  that  day  that  the  mountains  shall 
drop  down  new  wine,  and  the  hills  shall  flow  with 
milk." — iii.,  18.  They  translate  the  same  term  in 
Hebrew  sweet  wine  and  new  wine  indifferently,  and 
while  they  describe  it,  as  the  original  Scriptures  do, 
as  intoxicating,  they  also  describe  it  as  a  blessing, 
when  bestowed  upon  the  people  in  abundance.  The 
same  term,  t^^iTi,  they  render  wine  and  new  wine  ; 
and  it  is  at  one  time  represented  as  a  blessing  of  Di- 
vine Providence,  when  given  in  abundance.  There- 
fore prays  the  patriarch  Isaac  in  behalf  of  his  favorite 
son :  "  God  give  thee  of  the  dew  of  heaven,  and  of 
the  fatness  of  the  earth,  and  plenty  of  corn  and 
wine." — Gen.  xxvii.,  28.  "  With  corn  and  wine  have 
I  sustained  him." — ver.  37.     "  So  shall  thy  barns 


ii6  SERMONS. 


be  filled  with  plenty,  and  thy  presses  burst  out  with 
new  wine." — Prov.  iii.,  lo.  At  another  time  it  de- 
scribes a  liquor  which  will  intoxicate.  "  Wine  and 
new  wine  take  away  the  heart." — Hosea  iv.,  1 1. 
M£^vv}xa — Sept.;  ebrietas — Vulg.  ''The  new  wine 
mourneth,  the  vine  languished;  all  the  merry-hearted 
do  sigh." — Isaiah  xxiv.,  7.  "And  shalt  tread  sweet 
wine,  but  shalt  not  drink  wine,"  P^ — Micah,  vi.,  15. 
*'The  fountain  of  Jacob  shall  be  upon  aland  of  corn 
and  wine." — Deut.  xxxiii.,  28.  '*  In  the  holy  place 
shalt  thou  cause  the  strong  wine,  l^SJ',  to  be  poured 
out." — Numbers  xxviii.,  7.  In  ver.  xiv.,  thep^  is 
used  for  the  same  sacred  purpose.  And  that  it  is 
intoxicating  is  evident,  since  it  is  said  of  it,  "  Wine 
is  a  mocker,  strong  drink  is  raging." — Prov.,  xx.,  I, 
31-36. — "  Do  not  drink  wine,  P%  nor  strong  drink, 
thou  nor  thy  sons  with  thee,  when  ye  go  into  the 
tabernacle  of  the  congregation," 

Mixed  wine  ^DQ  is  used  as  an  illustration  of  the 
blessings  of  the  everlasting  Gospel.  "  Wisdom  hath 
builded  her  house,  she  hath  hewn  out  her  seven  pil- 
lars: she  hath  killed  her  beasts;  she  hath  mingled  her 
wine  ;  she  hath  also  furnished  her  table.  She  hath 
sent  forth  her  maidens :  she  crieth  upon  the  highest 
places  of  the  city.  Whoso  is  simple,  let  him  turn 
in  hither:  as  for  him  that  wanteth  understanding, 
she  saith  to  him.  Come,  eat  of  my  bread,  and  drink  of 
the  wine  which  I  have  mhigled.  Forsake  the  foolish 
and  live :  and  go  in  the  way  of  understanding." — 
Prov.   ix.,  1-6.     It  is  of  the  same  signification  with 


TEMPERA  NCE.  1 1 7 


np"in  V^  spiced  wine.  "  I  would  cause  thee  to  drink 
of  spiced  wine  of  the  juice  of  my  pomegranate "; 
(Song  of  Sol.  viii.,  2)  "  and  mixed  liquor,"  vii.,  3.  This 
wine  mixed  with  spices  is  also  intoxicating.  **  Wo 
unto  them  that  are  mighty  to  drink  wine,  and  men 
of  strength  to  mingle  strong  drink."-^Isaiah  v.,  22. 
*'  Who  hath  wo  ?  etc.,  they  that  go  to  seek  mixed 
wine"  ")DOD. — Prov.  xxiii.,  30.  "  Thy  silver  is  be- 
come dross,  thy  wine  3KnD  mixed  with  water." 
Isa.  i.,  22.  Here  it  is  used  in  a  good  sense.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Hebrew  parallelism  the  same  general 
calamity  is  expressed  by  the  silver  becoming  dross 
and  the  wine  being  mixed  with  water.  And  yet  this 
invaluable  blessing,  when  used  to  excess,  gives  name 
to  the  drunkard.  ''Be  not  among  zvine-bibbers ; 
among  riotous  eaters  of  flesh  :  for  the  drunkard  and 
the  glutton  shall  come  to  poverty." — Prov.  xxiii.,  20, 
21.  The  pure  blood  of  the  grape  is  celebrated  as 
one  of  the  bounties  of  Divine  Providence.  **  Butter 
of  kine,  and  milk  of  sheep,  with  fat  of  lambs,  and 
rams  of  the  breed  of  Bashan,  and  goats,  with  the 
fat  of  the  kidneys  of  wheat  ;  and  thou  didst  drink 
the  pure  blood  of  the  grape,"  ")t}n  (so-called  from 
being  fermented.  Gesenius.) — Deut.  xxxii.,  14. 
The  same  word  is  used  in  the  Chaldean  form,  for  the 
wine  which  intoxicated  Belshazzar  on  the  night  on 
which  he  was  slain.  "  Belshazzar  the  king  made  a 
great  feast  to  a  thousand  of  his  lords,  and  drank 
wine  before  the  thousand." — Dan.  v,  i,  2,  4,  23,  also 
in  Ezra  vi.,  9.     ''  In  the  hands  of  the  Lord  there  is 


Ii8  SERMONS. 


a  cup,  and  the  wine  is  red ;  it  is  full  of  mixture, 
and  he  poiireth  out  of  the  same  •  but  the  dregs 
thereof,  all  the  wicked  of  the  earth  shall  wring  them 
out,  and  drink  them." — Ps.  Ixxv.,  8.  The  medicated 
cup  given  to  criminals  was  mixed  with  stupefying 
drugs.  "And  the  principal  word  indeed  in  Arabic 
for  wine,  kJiama,  is  derived  from  the  word  khamar^ 
which  means  to  ferment." — Smith's  Letters. 

Having  examined  all  the  passages  in  which  wine 
is  referred  to  or  mentioned  in  the  Hebrew  and 
Chaldaic  Scriptures,  I  have  found  every  one  of  the 
terms  used  to  express  it  denotes  a  blessing  of 
Divine  Providence,  like  corn  and  oil,  and  that  it  will 
intoxicate,  if  taken  to  excess.  The  distinction, 
therefore,  between  fermented  and  unfermented 
wines  is  not  only  without,  but  against,  all  the  evi- 
dence in  the  case.  There  is  a  term,  nc^"'K^N,  2 
Sam.  vi.,  19,  rendered  a  flagon  of  wine,  and  a 
phrase,  D^my  '•EJ^^S^N,  flagons  of  wine,  in  Hosea 
iii.,  I  ;  Isa.  xvi.,  7  ;  and  again  in  Cant,  ii.,  4,  5,  where 
it  is  used  in  a  good  sense:  *'  He  brought  me  to  the 
banqueting  house,  and  his  banner  over  me  was 
love."  "  Stay  me  with  flagons."  In  Hosea  iii.,  i, 
"  the  children  of  Israel  who  look  to  other  gods,  and 
love  flagons  of  wine,"  it  describes  the  licentions 
indulgence  in  intemperance  and  other  excesses  prac- 
ticed in  the  worship  of  idols.  If  now  we  go  to  the 
New  Testament,  a  similar  examination  will  furnish 
a  similar  result. 

"  Neither  do  men  put  new  wine,  oivov  veov,  into 


TEMPERANCE.  119 

old  bottles,  else  the  bottles  break  and  the  wine  run- 
neth out,  and  the  bottles  perish ;  but  they  put  new 
wine  into  new  bottles,  and  both  are  preserved." — 
Matt,  ix.,  17.  The  new  skin  bottles  expand  with  the 
the  increased  volume  of  the  fermenting  liquor. 
"  Others  mocking,  said,  these  men  are  full  of  new 
wine,  y\EVKov<iy  sweet  wine." — Acts  ii.,  13.  This  also 
would  intoxicate,  for  Peter  in  his  defense  says : 
"  These  men  are  not  drnnk^  as  ye  suppose." — Ver. 
15.  "  The  same  shall  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of 
God,"  rov  KSKepaffuevov  aupaTov^  the  wine  mixed 
with  stupefying  drugs  and  unmixed  with  water. — 
Rev.  xiv.,  10.    This  corresponds  with  Psalm  Ixxv.,  8. 

The  common  term  for  wine  is  oivoby  and  has  the 
same  signification,  and  almost  the  same  sound,  in 
Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  and  English,  the  spelling  in 
our  own  language  being  more  like  the  Hebrew  than 
any  of  the  others,  if  pronounced  without  the  points, 
iin,  ^^  '*  Be  not  drunk  with  wine,  wherein  is  excess." 
Eph.  v.,  18. 

That  it  signifies  an  intoxicating  liquor  in  the  case 
of  our  Lord  is  evident  from  the  charge  which  his 
enemies  brought  against  him,  because  he  was  not 
like  John  in  his  habits,  a  Nazarite.  ''  The  Son  of 
Man  came  eating  and  drinking,  and  they  said. 
Behold  a  man  gluttonous,  and  a  zvine-bibber.*' 
Luke  vii.,  34.  If  the  wine  which  he  drank  was  not 
intoxicating,  there  had  been  no  more  pretense  for 
the  charge  of  drunkenness  against  him,  than  against 
John.     Wicked  men  are    artful    enough   to   frame 


I20  SERMONS. 


their  charges  so  as  that  they  may  have  some  little 
semblance  of  foundation  in  truth,  if  possible.  Who 
ever  was  charged  with  drunkenness  because  he 
drank  syrup  and  water  ?  And  again,  at  the  mar- 
riage in  Cana,  the  wine  which  he  made  was  evi- 
dently intoxicating  ;  for  he  said  himself,  *'  No  man 
also  having  drunk  old  wine  straightway  desireth 
new ;  for  he  saith.  The  old  is  better." — Luke  v.,  39. 
But  the  new  wine  itself  was  fermented,  much  more 
the  old.  If  that  wine  was  the  best,  it  was  of  the 
character  of  the  old,  but  the  old  was  most  perfect- 
ly and  fully  fermented  ;  therefore  that  miraculous 
wine  was  intoxicating.  "  Every  man  at  the  begin- 
ning doth  set  forth  good  wine,  and  when  men  have 
well  drunk,  then  that  which  is  worse ;  but  thou  hast 
kept  thQ  good  wmQ  until  now." — John  ii.,  la 

As  the  Scriptures  know  nothing  of  this  distinc- 
tion between  fermented  and  unfermented  wines,  so 
the  church  in  after-times  were  in  every  age  equally 
ignorant  of  it.  Neither  the  ancient  heretics,  the 
Encratites,  nor  the  orthodox,  had  ever  dreamed  of 
it.  It  is  utterly  incredible  that  if  it  had  been 
known,  the  heretics  would  not  have  used  the  unfer- 
mented wine  rather  than  water.  And  to  this  day 
the  distinction  is  utterly  unknown  in  the  region  of 
the  revelation,  the  land  of  Syria.  Hear  the  Rev. 
Eli  Smith,  of  the  Syrian  Mission,  in  a  letter  to  a 
correspondent,  or  editor  of  the  Princeton  Review^ 
dated  Kinderhook,  Nov.  10,  1840: 

"  The  wines  now  in  common  use  in  Palestine,  in 


TEMPERA  NCE.  121 


Mount  Lebanon,  and  in  all  the  countries  around  the 
Mediterranean  that  I  have  been  in,  are  fermented, 
and  Ao  produce  intoxication'*  Again  :  "  Nor  do  we 
make  any  exception  of  unfermented  wines.  I  have 
never  fotmd  2,ny  such  zvines  now  used  in  those  coun- 
tries. I  recollect,  indeed,  that  in  traveling  through 
Asia  Minor,  I  frequently  quenched  my  thirst  with 
an  infusion  of  raisins.  But  it  was  never  called 
sherab,  the  name  given  in  Turkish  to  wine,  but  uzum 
suyu — raisin  water.  Even  in  the  house  of  the  chief 
rabbi  of  the  Spanish  Jews,  at  Hebron,  I  was  once 
treated  with  fermented  wine  during  the  feast  of 
unleavened  bread." — Princeton  Review  for  April, 
1841,  p.  283-4. 

It  is  perfectly  manifest,  then,  that  this  distinction 
between  fermented  and  unfermented  wines  is  a 
mere  fiction,  invented  to  save  the  advocates  of  total 
abstinence  from  the  shame  of  an  acknowledged 
defeat,  or  of  infidel  opposition  to  the  plainest  testi- 
monies of  the  Word  of  God.  If  it  were  ever  proved 
that  such  a  distinction  did  exist,  and  was  embodied 
in  distinct  and  well-defined  terms  (which  we  have 
seen  it  is  not)  still,  while  terms  expressing  intoxicat- 
ing wines  are  used  times  innumerable  to  express 
that  which  is  used  with  approbation  as  an  ordinary 
blessing  of  Divine  Providence,  the  distinction  would 
avail  nothing,  any  more  than  it  would  prove  at  this 
day  that  a  man  might  not  lawfully  use  wine,  because 
he  might  use  syrup  and  water. 

After  all  the  instances  of  drunkenness  by  wine, 


SERMONS. 


and  the  rebukes  for  it,  with  which  the  Scriptures 
abound,  the  position  taken  by  some  of  this  party, 
that  the  wines  of  the  ancients  were  not  fermented, 
is  so  grossly  absurd,  that  it  is  almost  inconceivable 
that  men  in  the  possession  of  their  reason  ever 
could  have  thought  of  palming  it  upon  the  public. 
If  their  wine  was  not  fermented,  how  did  they  get 
drunk  ?  If  any  proof  were  needed  that  many  of  the 
advocates  of  this  heresy  are  under  a  strange  delu- 
sion, it  is  furnished  in  the  fact  that  they  can  gravely, 
and  without  a  blush,  venture  upon  positions  like 
these.* 

*  The  scientific  meaning  of  the  word  wine  is  the  same  with 
the  popular.  Nicholson's  British  Encyclopedia  thus  defines — 
Article  "  Wine."  "  All  wines  contain  an  acid,  alcohol,  tartar,  ex- 
tract aroma,  and  a  coloring  matter."  On  the  article  of  Fer- 
mentation, it  teaches  :  "  The  word  fermentation,  in  general,  is 
used  to  denote  that  change  in  the  principles  of  organic  bodies 
which  begins  to  take  place  spontaneously  as  soon  as  their  vital 
functions  have  ceased,  and,  by  them,  are  at  length  reduced  to 
their  first  principles.  This  has  been  distinguished  into  three 
stages,  the  vinous  or  spirituous,  the  acid  or  acetous,  and  the 
putrid  fermentation.  It  is  ascertained,  almost  beyond  doubt, 
that  the  vinous  fermentation  takes  place  only  in  such  bodies  as 
contain  saccharine  juices.  In  this,  the  most  remarkable  pro- 
duct is  a  volatile,  colorless,  slightly  inflammable  fluid,  which 
mixes  with  water  in  all  proportions,  and  is  called  alcohol. 
The  three  conditions  for  the  accomplishment  of  fermentation  are, 
therefore,  fluidity  or  moisture,  ipoderate  heat  or  a  due  temper- 
ature, and  the  access  of  air."  From  these  statements  it  appears 
that  fermentation  commences  spontaneously,  as  soon  as  the 
juice  is  expressed,  and  exposed  to  the  air,  in  a  moderate  tem- 
perature, and,  therefore,  that  unfermented  wine  is  a  nonentity. 


TEMPERA  NCE.  1 2  3 


2.  The  strength  of  the  conclusion  that  the  posi- 
tion of  the  American  Temperance  Convention  is  un- 
scriptural,  being  increased,  instead  of  weakened  or 
set  aside  by  the  distinction  invented  for  the  pur- 
pose of  escaping  from  it,  let  us  consider  the  propri- 
ety of  unsettling  that  conclusion,  at  which  we  have 
arrived  from  numerous  decisions  of  infallible  author- 
ity, upon  the  very  point,  by  general  expressions  in 
relation  to  other  points.  If  this  be  allowable,  then 
different  parts  of  the  same  book  authorize  contra- 
dictory conclusions  on  the  same  point.  But  this  is 
at  once  to  destroy  the  whole  authority  of  the  Bible, 
as  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  To  believe  or  obey 
both  sides  of  a  contradiction  is  impossible.  We 
have  seen  that  no  ingenuity  of  the  total  abstinence 
men  can  reconcile  their  scheme  with  the  decisions 
to  which  I  have  appealed.  Let  us  inquire  whether 
these  decisions  can  not  be  reconciled  with  the  pas- 
sages adduced  on  the  other  side. 

I.  The  butler's  dream  is  referred  to :  *'  And 
Pharaoh's  cup  was  in  my  hand  :  and  I  took  the 
grapes,  and  pressed  them  into  Pharaoh's  cup,  and  I 
gave  the  cup  into  Pharaoh's  hand." — Gen.  xl.,  1 1. 
But  this  was  a  dream,  in  which  things  are  repre- 
sented out  of  their  ordinary  course  ;  the  vine  buds, 
and  blossoms,  and  brings  forth  grapes,  all  in  one 
night.  If  you  infer  from  this  dream  that  vegetation 
is  so  rapid  in  Egypt,  then  you  may  infer  that 
Pharaoh  drank  nothing  but  the  juice  of  grapes,  the 
moment  they  were  expressed  in  his  sight ;  and  if  he 


124  SERMONS. 


did,  it  is  not  called  wine,  nor  does  it  touch  the  ques- 
tion whether  wine  might  lawfully  be  used  as  a 
beverage.  How  does  it  follow,  because  Pharaoh 
used  grape  juice,  no  flesh  may  use  wine? 

2.  The  case  of  the  Nazarite  is  quoted.  And  what 
has  their  case  to  do  with  the  question,  whether  all 
men  are  under  solemn  moral  obligation  to  abstain,  as 
a  beverage,  forever  from  all  that  can  intoxicate  ?  No 
person  was  under  any  moral  obligation  to  become  a 
Nazarite,  either  from  the  law  of  temperance,  or  any 
other  general  moral  law  ;  and  when  the  vow  was 
taken,  it  was  for  a  limited  time,  after  which  "  the 
Nazarite  may  drink  wine." — Num.  vi.,  20.  His  obli- 
gations were  purely  ceremonial,  otherwise  they  had 
bound  him  while  he  lived.  If  one  part  of  his  vow 
is  binding  as  an  example,  so  are  the  others,  and 
every  man  must  not  only  abstain  from  wine,  but  also 
from  grapes,  moist  or  dried.  He  must  not  cut  his 
hair,  nor  come  at  a  dead  body,  even  of  his  nearest 
friends.  This  law  has  been  obsolete  for  about  eigh- 
teen hundred  years.  The  last  of  the  Nazarites  was 
John  the  Baptist,  who  was  made  such  by  a  special 
law  in  his  case,  before  he  was  born  ;  and,  as  if  to  show 
in  clearest  possible  manner  the  absurdity  of  making 
the  law  of  the  Nazarite  moral,  universal,  and  per- 
petual, John's  Lord  and  Master,  whose  shoe-latchet 
he  was  not  worthy  to  unloose,  was  contrasted  with 
him  on  this  very  subject,  and  what  John  by  the  law 
of  the  Nazarite  does  not,  Jesus  does  :  **  For  John 
the  Baptist  came  neither  eating  bread  nor  drinking 


TEMPERANCE. 


wine,  and  ye  say  that  he  hath  a  devil.  The  Son  of 
Man  is  come  eating  and  drinking,  and  ye  say,  Be- 
hold a  man  gluttonous  and  a  wine-hihh^x,  a  friend  of 
publicans  and  sinners." — Luke  vii.,  33,  34. 

How,  then,  a  law,  which  was  purely  optional,  cere- 
monial, and  particular,  which  has  long  ago  expired 
by  its  own  limitation,  can  be  any  warrant  for  a  law 
of  solemn  moral  obligation  on  all  men,  everywhere 
and  forever,  is  more  than  I  am  able  to  comprehend. 

The  truth  is,  this  very  law  proves  the  very  doc- 
trine it  is  supposed  to  subvert,  as  every  express 
exception  under  a  general  law  establishes  the  law 
itself,  assuming  the  facts  of  its  obligation  and  gen- 
eral application.  As  soon  as  the  period  of  the 
Nazarite's  special  vow  has  expired,  he  returns  to  his 
former  state,  the  common  condition  and  duties  of 
the  community,  and  he  may,  in  perfect  keeping  Avith 
all  his  duties  to  God  and  man — he  may  drink  wine.. 
What  he  may  now  do,  all  the  community  may  do, 
with  perfect  propriety  and  untarnished  honor. 
But  if  it  be  their  duty  to  abstain,  as  total  abstinence 
men  insist,  some  for  one  reason  and  some  for  another, 
then  they  are  at  liberty  to  use  it  no  longer.  The 
liberty  to  use,  and  the  duty  to  abstain,  are  incom- 
patible with  each  other ;  we  must  choose  between 
them. 

3.  The  case  of  the  Rechabites  (Jer.  35)  is  appealed 
to  as  authority  for  the  doctrine  of  total  abstinence, 
inasmuch  as  their  conduct  is  approved.  It  is  freely 
admitted  that  they  did  right  in  obeying  Jonadab,. 


126  SERIilONS. 


their  father,  for  special  and  political  considerations, 
not  only  in  abstaining  from  wine,  but  also  from 
building  houses  and  sowing  seed,  and  from  possess- 
ing vineyards,  houses,  or  fields.  But  if  any  one 
should  produce  this  case  to  prove  that  the  business 
of  the  house-carpenter  and  of  the  farmer  ought  to 
t)e  abstained  from,  totally,  and  forever,  he  would 
be  laughed  to  scorn  by  the  whole  world.  But  the 
case  proves  the  propriety  of  abstaining  from  those 
as  well  as  from  wine  ;  there  was  the  same  reason  for 
these  as  for  this,  and  neither  of  them  had  anything 
to  do  with  the  general  duty,  either  of  the  Jewish 
nation,  or  any  other  people  on  earth.  It  is  a  mere 
quibble  to  say  that  they  were  tested  only  in  the 
case  of  the  wine.  It  was  the  case  most  capable  of 
being  made  a  test,  at  once  convenient  and  conclu- 
sive. Moreover,  this  very  case  disproves  the  very 
doctrine  it  is  adduced  to  sustain.  That  doctrine  is 
not  that  men  may  abstain  for  proper  considerations, 
which  no  man  on  earth  has  ever  dreamed  of  deny- 
ing, but  that  it  is  their  duty  under  the  operation  of 
a  general  law,  such  as  that  of  temperance  or  love,  to 
abstain  forever  from  all  intoxicating  drinks  as  a 
beverage.  This  position  takes  these  things  out  of 
the  condition  of  matters  of  liberty,  or  things  indif- 
ferent altogether.  The  question,  the  practical  and 
exciting  question  before  this  community,  is  not 
whether  we  may  abstain,  but  whether  we  must.  If, 
then,  Jeremiah,  or  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  who 
directed  him,  had  been  of  the  same  mind,  in  relation 


TEMPERANCE.  1 27 


to  the  use  of  wine  as  a  beverage,  as  total  abstinence 
men  are  now,  what  an  unaccountable  omission  was 
it,  when  so  fair  an  opportunity  was  given,  that  the 
prophet  did  not  exhort  the  whole  people  of  Israel 
to  follow  the  example  of  the  Rechabites,  and  pour 
their  wine  into  the  streets  and  turn  in  their  cattle 
upon  their  vineyards.  What  is  the  rebuke  pointed 
by  the  case  of  the  Rechabites?  "The  words  of 
Jonadab  the  son  of  Rechab,  that  he  commanded  his 
sons  not  to  drink  wine,  are  performed  ;  for  unto  this 
day  they  drink  none,  but  obey  they  father's  com- 
mandment :  notwithstanding  I  have  spoken  unto 
you,  rising  up  early  and  speaking ;  but  ye  hearkened 
not  unto  me.  I  have  also  sent  unto  you  all  my  ser- 
vants the  prophets,  rising  up  early  and  sending 
them-,  saying.  Return  ye  now  every  man  from  his 
evil  way,  and  amend  your  doings,  and  go  not  after 
other  gods  to  serve  them^  and  ye  shall  dwell  in  the 
land  which  I  have  given  to  you  and  to  your  fathers  : 
but  ye  have  not  inclined  your  ear,  nor  hearkened 
unto  me." — Jer.  xxxv.,  14,  15.  The  sin  particularly 
charged  is  not  drinking  wine,  but  going  after  other 
gods  to  serve  them.  False  religion  is  the  subject  of 
the  Divine  rebuke,  not  the  sober  and  thankful  use  of 
the  products  of  his  wisdom  and  love. 

4.  Daniel  has  been  quoted  as  an  example  of  total 
abstinence :  Dan.  i.,  8.  ''  Daniel  purposed  in  his 
heart  that  he  would  not  defile  himself  with  the  por- 
tion of  the  king's  meat,  and  of  the  wine  which  he 
drank."     Ans.     The  word  defile  shows  that  Daniel's 


128  SERMONS. 


objection  was  derived  from  the. ceremonial  law  ;  and 
his  practice,   chap,  x.,  proves  that  he  did  use  wine. 

5.  As  the  Old  Testament  contains  nothing  to 
prove  the  doctrine  of  total  abstinence,  now  sought 
to  be  established  as  part  of  the  moral  law,  let  us  see 
if  there  be  anything  to  favor  it  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  case  of  John  the  Baptist  (Luke  vii.,  33), 
who  drank  neither  wine  nor  strong  drink,  is  adduced, 
and  his  example  is  urged,  because  he  was  a  very 
good  man.  But,  according  to  this  argument,  it  is 
more  of  a  duty  to  break  the  law  of  total  abstinence 
than  to  keep  it;  for  John's  Master  was  much  better 
than  he,  and  he  drank  wine  himself,  and  furnished 
it  for  the  use  of  others,  at  a  marriage.  The  only 
total  abstinence  men  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  Sam- 
son and  John  the  Baptist,  were  made  so,  not  by  a 
voluntary  pledge,  but  by  special  divine  law,  before 
they  were  born.  Laws  made  for  individual  cases 
have  no  application  beyond  the  particular  cases 
themselves :  nay,  the  very  fact  of  such  special  laws 
proves  indisputably  that  there  was  no  general  obli- 
gation resting  upon  the  whole  community.  If  there 
had  been,  such  special  law  would  have  been  super- 
fluous. There  would  have  been  the  same  reason  for 
re-enacting  in  his  case  every  other  part  of  human 
duty. 

6.  Timothy  also  is  cited  as  a  temperance  man,  in 
this  modern  and  very  improper  sense  of  the  term. 
'*  Drink  no  longer  water,  but  use  a  little  wine  for  thy 
stomach's   sake,    and    thine    often    infirmities." — i 


TEMPERA  NCE.  1 2  < 


Tim.  v.,  23.  From  this  passage  it  is  argued  that 
Timothy  was  a  total  abstinence  man,  or  it  would 
have  been  unnecessary  for  the  apostle  to  urge  him 
to  use  a  little  wine,  even  as  a  medicine.  It  certainly 
is  very  plainly  implied  that  Timothy  was  injuring 
himself  by  too  much  abstinence.  If  he  had  used 
wine  moderately  as  a  beverage,  he  would  have 
superseded  the  necessity  of  taking  it  as  a  medicine. 
Timothy  was,  in  Paul's  judgment,  rather  ultra  in  his 
abstinence.  How  does  this  prove  that  all  ultra  men 
are  right  ?  Besides,  there  is  not  the  slightest  intima- 
tion that  Timothy  was  actuated  in  his  abstinence 
by  any  considerations  of  temperance,  or  the  moral 
obligation  of  all  men  to  abstain  from  wine  as  a 
beverage. 

We  have  not  found  the  slightest  trace  of  that  doc- 
trine in  the  whole  of  our  previous  inquiries,  and  it 
is  not  at  all  necessary  to  assume  it  here  without  evi- 
dence. The  fact  of  his  abstinence  is  all  that  is 
stated.  It  is  the  motive  which  gives  the  act  its 
moral  character.  Timothy  might  abstain,  and  ab- 
stain too  much,  from  mere  inattention  to  the  state 
of  his  health,  as  some  persons  injure  their  health 
now,  by  living  on  a  too  meagre  diet,  when  the  state 
of  their  system  requires  more  generous  food.  This 
argument  from  the  case  of  Timothy  is  like  all  the 
rest  on  that  side,  a  mere  begging  of  the  question.  It 
is  taken  for  granted,  without  proof,  that  Timothy 
was  actuated  in  his  abstinence  by  the  same  motives 
which  actuate  total  abstinence  men  now.     This  is 


I30  SERMONS. 


not  in  evidence,  and  it  will  not  be  conceded  without 
evidence,  and  contrary  to  all  the  evidence  in  the 
Bible  on  the  question.  This  case  of  Timothy  proves 
that  while  many  persons  use  too  much  wine,  some 
persons  use  too  little,  and  that   is  all  that  it  proves. 

7.  The  last  passage  to  which  I  shall  refer,  and 
on  which  the  principal  reliance  is  placed  by  these 
persons,  is,  "  It  is  good  neither  to  eat  flesh  nor  to 
drink  wine,  nor  anything  whereby  thy  brother  stum- 
bleth,  or  is  offended,  or  is  made  weak." — Rom.  xiv., 
21  ;  together  with  this,  "  If  meat  make  my  brother 
to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  flesh  while  the  world  stand- 
eth,  lest  I  make  my  brother  to  offend." — i  Cor.  viii., 
13.  From  these  testimonies  it  is  urged  that  the 
apostle  lays  down  the  general  principle  in  morals, 
that  if  another  person  abuses  his  privileges  we  ought 
to  abstain  from  using  ours  in  order  to  his  reforma- 
tion. 

To  this  argument  I  reply  : 

I. -Neither  of  these  texts  have  any  reference  to 
the  question  of  temperance.  There  is  not  in  any 
of  them  the  slightest  allusion  to  that  subject.  The 
subject  in  Romans  is  the  distinction  of  meats  for- 
merly established  by  the  cerem.onial  law,  and  that  in 
Corinthians  the  propriety  of  using  meats  that  had 
been  offered  in  sacrifice  to  idols.  Now  as  it  would 
violate  all  the  laws  of  interpretation  and  of  evidence 
to  interpret  a  general  expression  on  one  subject  so 
as  to  contradict  explicit  and  numerous  decisions  of 
the  point  in  question  by  the  highest  authority  on 


TEMPERANCE.  131 


another  subject,  such  general  expressions  must 
always  be  limited  by  the  subject  and  connection,  as 
well  as  by  other  truths  established  by  the  same 
authority. 

'  2.  If  the  apostle  had  entertained  the  same  views 
of  the  impropriety  of  using  wine  as  a  beverage  at 
all,  as  total  abstinence  men  do,  he  would  not  have 
suspended  the  injunction  to  abstain  upon  mere  con- 
tingencies which  may  happen  to  one  man  and  not 
to  another,  and  to  the  same  person  at  one  time  and 
not  at  another.  Instead  of  making  the  prohibition 
conditional,  he  would  have  made  it  absolute  ;  and 
the  fact  that  he  did  not  do  so,  demonstrates  that  the 
mind  of  the  Spirit,  whose  amanuensis  he  was,  dif- 
fered entirely  from  the  mind  of  these  men. 

3.  If  the  cases  involved  in  these  passages  are 
parallel  with  the  present  controversy,  then  the  apos- 
tle has  decided  the  question  in  favor  of  those  who 
say  it  is  right  to  use  these  things.  He  says  :  "  I 
know,  and  am  persuaded  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  that 
there  is  nothing  unclean  of  itself." — Rom.  xiv.,  14. 
And  again  :  "  As  concerning  therefore  the  eating  of 
those  things  that  are  offered  in  sacrifice  to  idols,  we 
know  that  an  idol  is  nothing  in  the  world,  and  that 
there  is  no  God  but  one;  for  though  there  be  that 
are  called  gods,  whether  in  heaven  or  in  earth,  (as 
there  be  gods  many  and  lords  many  ;)  but  to  us  there 
is  but  one  God,  the  Father,  of  whom  are  all  things, 
and  we  in  Him  :  and  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by 
whom    are  all  things,    and   we   by  Him.     Howbeit 


t^i  SERMONS. 


there  is  not  in  every  man  that  knowledge." — I  Cor. 
viii.,  4-7.  He  who  eats  has  knowledge,  he  under- 
stands the  case  aright.  He  who  refuses  is  a  weak 
brother,  laboring  under  an  ill-informed  conscience. 
"  And  through  thy  knowledge  shall  thy  weak  b7'other 
perish,  for  whom  Christ  died  ?  "  He  says  again  : 
"  Let  not  your  good  be  evil  spoken  of." — Rom.  xiv., 
15.  But  if  this  good  is  never  to  be  enjoyed  without 
sin,  wherein  consists  its  goodness  ?  The  duty  of  re- 
ceding from  one's  right  out  of  regard  to  the  good  of 
others,  can  only  be  occasional  and  partial.  A  right 
which  can  never  be  used  is  a  contradiction. 

4.  The  exposition  of  these  men  would  require  the 
apostle  to  abstain  from  wine  both  at  the  Lord's 
supper  and  as  a  medicine,  contrary  to  his  own  de- 
cisions in  those  cases,  inasmuch  as  some  men  in  those 
days  thought  it  wrong  to  use  anything,  whether 
flesh  or  wine,  that  had  been  offered  in  sacrifice  to 
idols,  or  had  been  prohibited  by  the  ceremonial  law. 
For  the  same  reason,  as  soon  as  the  Encratites  ap- 
peared, the  whole  church  ought  to  have  abandoned 
the  wine  in  the  Lord's  supper,  because  the  use  of 
it  stumbled  these  men. 

5.  But  why  multiply  words  on  this  subject? 
Total  abstinence  men  do  not  believe  themselves. 
If,  as  they  apply  this  passage,  Paul  enjoins  us  to  use 
neither  meat  nor  wine  if  a  brother  abuses  them,  then 
they  ought  never  to  touch  meat,  inasmuch  as  many 
persons  injure  themselves  by  their  manner  of  using 
it.     Indeed  meat  is  the  principal  subject  to  which 


TEMPERANCE.  1 33 


the  remark  of  the  apostle  is  applied.  But  who  do 
this?  Not  even  the  Grahamites.  They  do  it  for 
their  own  good — the  apostle  enjoins  it,  according  to 
this  exposition,  for  the  good  of  others.  And  those 
who  have  not  yet  gone  the  length  of  the  abstaining 
from  wine  at  the  Lord's  supper  are  inconsistent  with 
themselves,  for  some  of  their  WEAK  brethren  think 
it  wrong  to  use  it  there. 

We  have  seen,  then,  that  the  passages  of  sacred 
Scripture  which  are  referred  to  in  support  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  modern  Encratites,  instead  of  help- 
ing their  causes,  give  additional  testimony  against 
them. 

Thirdly.  They  have  yet  one  last  resource, — the 
doctrine  of  expediency.  To  make  room  for  this 
rule  of  faith,  it  is  contended  that  our  circumstances 
are  different  from  those  which  existed  in  the  days 
of  inspiration.  The  Convention  indeed  found  the 
obligation  on  the  tendencies  of  the  things  which  are 
the  same  in  all  ages.  This  plea  of  change  of  cir- 
cumstances is  a  giving  up  all  the  arguments  from 
Scripture,  for  if  these  arguments  were  sufficient  to 
sustain  their  cause,  a  change  of  circumstances  would 
add  nothing  to  its  strength.  It  is  thus  virtually 
confessed  that  the  decisions  of  Divine  revelation  are 
against  them,  that  as  there  was  no  occasion  for  it  in 
existing  circumstances,  this  doctrine  of  theirs  was 
not  then  taught;  and  yet  they  adhere  to  their  cause 
and  endeavor  to  sustain  it  from  sources  indepen- 
dent of  holy  Scripture.     But  such  an  attempt  is  to 


134  SERMOXS. 


do  open  dishonor  to  the  Word  of  God,  diSdi  perfect 
rule  of  faith  and  practice — it  is  to  charge  it  with 
deficiency.  Here,  it  is  said  a  state  of  things  exists 
for  which  the  Bible  has  made  no  provision,  nay, 
which  requires  that  human  wisdom  should  enact  regu- 
lations which  directly  contradict  those  of  the  Word 
of  God.  If  we  may  declare  one  part  of  the  Bible 
obsolete  to-day,  we  may  declare  another  so  to-mor- 
row, and  so  on,  until  it  is  entirely  laid  aside.  The 
doctrine  of  expediency  has  its  only  legitimate  use 
in  carrying  out,  in  the  manner  most  consistent  with 
the  great  principle  of  love,  all  Divine  enactments  and 
arrangements.  True  expediency  is  the  servant,  law 
is  the  master.  No  one  would  endure  for  a  moment 
that  a  subject  should  trangress  the  laws  of  civil 
society,  and  introduce  in  their  place  his  own  inven- 
tions, on  the  plea  that  it  was  more  expedient  to 
break  the  laws  than  to  keep  them.  Such  expedi- 
ency is  but  another  name  for>  lawlessness.  This  is 
the  expediency  of  thieves  and  robbers,  who,  finding 
the  law  against  their  practices,  decide  it  to  be  ex- 
pedient to  break  it.  And  if  the  laws  of  God  are 
more  perfect  than  those  of  civil  society,  those  who, 
on  the  ground  of  expediency,  make  those  laws  void, 
commit  a  greater  outrage,  and  deserve  severe  rebuke. 
For  ignorant,  sinful  man,  who  is  but  of  yesterday, 
and  knows  nothing,  to  exalt  his  wisdom  above  the 
wisdom  of  the  Omniscient,  and  his  benevolence 
above  the  benovelence  of  God — who  is  love  ;  and 
his  devices  above  the  institutions  and  appointments 


TEMPERA  NCE.  1 3  5 


of  the  everlasting  God,  which  are  holy,  and  just,  and 
good,  is  such  excessive  presumption,  that  it  would 
be  incredible  that  any  human  being  could  be  guilty 
of  it,  if  it  were  not  proved  by  the  history  of  every  day, 

"Who  art  thou,  O  man,  that  repliest  against  God  ?  " 
"  Shall  he  that  contendeth  with  the  Almighty  in- 
struct him  ?  "  "  He  that  reproveth  God,  let  him 
answer  it." 

But  what  is  the  great  change  of  circumstances 
which  is  to  displace  the  Word  of  God  from  its 
throne  in  the  human  conscience,  and  set  up  the  idol 
of  expediency  in  its  place? 

It  is  said  distilled  spirits  have  been  invented  since 
the  close  of  the  inspired  canon.  If  it  be  indeed  true 
that  they  are  always  injurious  to  men  in  health,  put 
them  under  the  ban  as  a  beverage.  Whether  wine 
is  so  or  not,  I  shall  not  inquire  at  the  bar  of  human 
wisdom.  I  know  from  much  higher  authority  that 
such  statements  are  false.  For  men  to  declare  that 
to  be  poison  having  a  tendency  to  derange  the 
bodily  functions  as  well  as  produce  almost  every 
moral  evil,  which  the  Lord  of  glory  furnished  mirac- 
ulously at  a  marriage,  is  such  open  and  unblushing 
impiety  as  to  demand  the  solemn  rebuke  of  every 
Christian  and  every  minister  of  Christ. 

Again  it  is  said,  that  drunkenness  is  a  much  more 
prevalent  sin  now  than  in  the  days  of  inspiration. 
If  this  were  admitted,  what  would  it  prove  ?  Be- 
cause a  sin  which  existed  in  those  days  has  increased, 
therefore  the  doctrines  of  God's  Word  are  to  be 


136  SERMONS. 


contradicted,  and  his  institutions  give  place  to  the 
inventions  of  man.  For  the  same  reason,  if  any 
other  sin  has  increased,  we  may  set  aside  other  dec- 
larations and  arrangements,  and  thus  dispense  at 
will  with  the  whole  Word  of  God.  What  is  this  but 
to  say  that  God's  plans  have  been  tried  and  failed ; 
man  therefore  must  invent  more  safe  and  efficient 
means  of  promoting  temperance,  and  every  other 
grace  and  virtue — means,  not  which  fall  under  the 
declarations  and  appointments  of  God,  but  which 
contradict  and  deride  them  ;  not  the  prudential 
regulations  of  civil  society  or  pious  individuals — as- 
sociated efforts  which  carry  out  into  practical  ac- 
complishments the  truth  and  commandments  of 
God — but  doctrines  which  contradict  his  testimony 
and  make  void  his  law. 

The  difference,  if  any,  between  the  drunkenness 
in  the  days  of  inspiration  and  now  is  only  in  degree. 
Whenever,  then,  this  sin  is  brought  down  to  the 
degree  in  which  it  obtained  in  those  days,  then  new 
doctrines  and  new  measures  must  give  place  to 
those  of  the  Bible  ;  and  thus,  as  times  change,  the 
declarations  of  God  become  true  or  false,  his  ap- 
pointments are  in  authority  or  disgrace.  But  while 
such  an  increase  in  the  degree  of  drunkenness  is 
thought  sufficient  to  authorize  these  new  doctrines 
and  laws,  no  diminution  of  that  degree  can  ever  bring 
back  the  old  ;  for  the  present  enactment  is  **  a 
solemn  moral  obligation,  upon  every  man,  to  abstain 
totally,  and  forever." 


TEMPERANCE.  I37 


It  is  not  very  easy  to  measure  the  degree  of 
drunkenness  in  different  ages  of  the  world.  We  have 
no  methiunometer  by  which  to  test  it.  But  we  need 
not  much  regret  its  want,  for  a  very  slight  glance 
at  the  history  of  drunkenness  in  the  days  of  inspi- 
ration, will  show  that  there  was  abundant  occasion 
for  these  new  enactments  ;  this  new  light,  as  its 
votaries  fondly  regard  it  ;  this  old  darkness,  as  it  has 
proved  to  be,  if,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Most  High, 
they  had  been  regarded  as  expedient. 

Noah,  the  second  father  of  the  race,  with  whom 
commences  the  history  of  wine,  became  drunk. — Gen. 
ix.,  21.  What  ought  to  have  been  done  on  that  oc- 
casion ?  Our  modern  reformers  would  say,  prevent 
the  evil  for  all  time  to  come  by  absolute  prohibition 
of  the  thing  that  causes  it.  Is  any  such  law  en- 
acted by  Divine  authority  ?  We  have  seen  in  innum- 
erable declarations,  that  no  such  thing  ever  "•  came 
into  the  mind  of  Him  who  knows  the  end  from  the 
beginning,  and  from  ancient  times  the  things  that 
are  not  yet  done,  whose  counsel  shall  stand,  and 
who  will  do  all  his  pleasure."  Drunkenness  is  pre- 
dicted as  one  cause  of  divine  judgments  upon  Israel. 
Deut.  xxix.,  19.  Eli's  charge  against  Hannah  would 
not  have  been  made  by  so  amiable  a  man,  if  it  had 
not  been  a  frequent  offense  ! — i  Sam.  i.  David  says, 
he  was  the  song  of  the  drunkards. — Ps.  Ixix.,  12. 
The  Proverbs  abound  in  reference  to  that  sin. 
Isaiah  rebukes  the  country  of  Ephraim  as  character- 
ized by  drunkenness.— Isaiah  xxviii.,  i.   "  Wo  to  the 


138  SERMONS. 


crown  of  pride,  to  the  drunkards  of  Ephraim, 
whose  glorious  beauty  is  a  fading  flower,  which  are 
on  the  head  of  the  fat  valleys  of  them  that  are  over- 
come with  wine."  Joel  speaks  of  them  as  a  numer- 
ous class  of  men.  *'  Awake,  ye  drunkards,  and  weep  ; 
and  howl,  all  ye  drinkers  of  wine,  because  of  the 
new  wine;  for  it  is  cut  off  from  your  mouth." — 
Joel  i.,  5. 

In  the  New  Testament,  our  Lord  was  reproached 
with  drunkenness,  because  he  used  wine.  "  The 
son  of  man  is  come  eating  and  drinking,  and  ye  say, 
Behold  a  gluttonous  man,  and  a  wine-bibber." — 
Luke  vii.,  37.  Our  Lord,  in  the  parable  of  the 
steward,  plainly  intimates  that  it  was  a  frequent  oc- 
currence *'  to  eat,  and  to  be  drunken." — Luke  xii., 
45  ;  Matt,  xxiv.,  49.  And  he  solemnly  warns  the 
men  of  that  generation,  "  Take  heed  to  yourselves, 
lest  at  any  time  your  hearts  be  overcharged  with 
surfeiting  and  drunkenness,  and  cares  of  this  life," 
Luke  xxi.,  34,  putting  drunkenness  in  the  same 
category  with  surfeiting  and  cares  of  this  world, 
which  have  in  every  age  been  besetting  sins.  He 
charged  the  Pharisees  themselves  with  being  inward- 
ly full  of  extortion  and  excess.'*     Matt,  xxiii.,  25. 

The  apostles  were  charged  with  being  drunk,  be- 
cause filled  with  new  wine. — Acts  ii.,  13.  And  the 
charge  was  repelled,  not  because  it  was  a  very  un- 
usual  offense,    but   because  it  was  a  very  unusual 

*  "  Cibus  et  potus  qui  intemperantersumitur." — Schleusner, 


TEMPERANCE.  139 


time  in  the  day  to  commit  it.  "  Seeing  it  is 
but  the  third  hour  of  the  day";  verse  15, — about 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  How  many  people 
would  think  it  credible  now,  that  a  minister  of  the 
gospel  was  drunk  in  the  pulpit  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning?  some  total  abstinence  men  would — no- 
body in  their  sober  senses.  Drunkards  were  found 
even  in  churches  planted  by  the  apostles.  "  But  now 
I  have  written  unto  you,  not  to  keep  company,  if 
any  man  that  is  called  a  brother  be  a  fornicator,  or 
covetous,  or  an  idolater,  or  a  railer,  or  a  driinkardy 
oa  a  extortioner ;  with  such  a  one  no  not  to  eat." 
I  Cor.  v.,  II.  It  is  found  in  every  general  enumera- 
tion of  prevailing  sins.  *^  Nor  thieves,  nor  covetous, 
nor  drunkards,  nor  revilers,  nor  extortioners,  shall 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God." — i  Cor.  vi.,  10. 
"  Envying,  murder,  drunkenness,  revelings,  and  such 
like." — Gal.  v.,  21.  The  Christians  of  the  church 
of  Ephesus  are  admonished,  *'  Be  not  drunk  with 
wine,  wherein  is  excess ;  but  be  ye  filled  with  the 
Spirit." — Eph.  v.,  18.  And  such  a  scene  could  not 
be  paralleled  in  any  Christian  church  in  the  present 
day,  as  that  described  in  the  church  of  Corinth, 
when  observing  the  sacred  ordinance  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  :  "  For  in  eating,  every  one  taketh  before 
other  his  own  supper :  and  one  is  hungry,  and  another 
is  drunken." — i  Cor.  xi.,  21.  According  to  a  softer 
interpretation,  still  it  was  a  very  unseemly  exhibi- 
tion— **  one  is  hungry  and  thirsty,  and  another  has 
eaten  and  drunken  abundantly."     In  his  letter  to 


I40  SERMONS. 


the  Thessalonians,  he  exhorts  them  not  to  Imitate 
the  unregenerate  in  their  drunkenness  :  ''  They  that 
be  drunken,  are  drunken  in  the  night ;  but  let  us, 
who  are  of  the  day,  be  sober." — i  Thes.  v.,  7,  8. 
And  to  the  church  at  Rome,  in  her  days  of  greatest 
purity,  he  writes  :  "  Let  us  walk  honestly,  as  in  the 
day ;  not  in  rioting  and  drunkenness,  not  in  cham- 
bering and  wantonness,  not  in  strife  and  envying." — 
Rom.  xiii.,  13.  According  to  the  new  doctrine  of 
expediency,  the  church  of  Rome  is  right  in  super- 
seding the  truth  and  laws  of  God  by  her  own  doc- 
trine and  laws,  for  her  circumstances  are  entirely 
changed.  From  being  the  pure  spouse  of  Christ, 
she  has  become  *'  Mystery,  Babylon  the  great,  the 
mother  of  harlots  and  abominations  of  the  earth." 
Rev.  xvii.,  5. 

The  marriage  of  Cana  affords  instruction  on  this 
point  also.  The  master  of  the  feast  refers  to  a  com- 
mon custom  indicating  the  state  prevalent  at  that 
time.  "  Every  man  at  the  beginning  doth  set  forth 
good  wine,  and  when  men  have  ivelldrnnk,  then  that 
which  is  worse." — John  ii.,  10.  Here  it  is  plainly 
asserted,  as  a  common  practice  on  such  occasions, 
to  continue  to  drink  after  men  had  "drunk  abun- 
dantly." There  is  no  evidence  to  my  mind  that  there 
is  any  such  general  practice  at  weddings  now. 
After  this  review  it  must  be  evident  to  every  candid 
mind,  that  all  the  reasoning  by  which  the  expedi- 
ency of  the  doctrine  of  total  abstinence  is  urged 
was  as  appropriate  in  the  days  of  inspiration   as  at 


TEMPERANCE.  141 


this  day.  Is  drunkenness  a  prevailing  sin?  so  it 
was  then.  Does  the  use  of  these  drinks  terminate, 
in  many  cases,  in  their  abuse  ?  so  it  did  then.  And 
if  the  only  safe  and  efficient  means  of  promoting 
temperance  now  be  total  abstinence,  so  it  was  then. 
But  so  did  not  judge  the  only  wise  God  our  Saviour. 
The  plan  of  correcting  the  abuses  of  a  thing  by 
abolishing  its  use,  if  carried  out,  would  deprive  us 
of  every  good  thing  which  God  has  given  us,  for 
everything  is  abused  ;  and  while  man  remains  cur- 
rupt,  will  be  abused.  Liberty  is  abused  in  the  state. 
Is  the  only  cure  for  it  absolute  despotism  ?  The 
liberty  of  speech  and  of  the  press  are  grossly  abused. 
Is  every  man  under  solemn,  moral  obligation  to  give 
up  his  liberties,  because  some  men  abuse  them  by 
lying  and  slandering  their  neighbors,  and  propagating 
all  sorts  of  heresies,  and  follies,  and  sins  ?  Money 
is  abused.  It  is  the  grand  idol  of  the  world.  Is  it 
every  man's  duty  never  more  to  touch  so  great  an 
evil?  If  this  principle  be  carried  out,  the  whole 
world  must  stand  still  and  utterly  perish  from  inac- 
tion. 

Like  every  other  attempt  to  improve  upon  the 
wisdom  of  God  by  human  presumption  and  folly, 
this  scheme  of  total  abstinence  introduces  a  thou- 
sand evils,  without  removing  one.  Its  utter  inefifi- 
ciency  in  removing  intemperance,  is  seen  on  a  large 
scale  among  the  Turks  and  Persians,  the  greatest 
sensualists  on  earth  ;  and  whatever  different  results 
have  attended  it  in  this  country,  are  to  be  ascribed 


142  SERMONS. 


to  other  influences,  and  to  the  truth  which  has  been 
employed  in  connection  with  this  error.  Its  whole 
history  has  shown  this  doctrine  to  be  productive  of 
the  most  baleful  consequences.  At  its  origin,  in  the 
early  ages  of  Christianity,  it  corrupted  the  ordinance 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  introduced  a  scheme  of  reli- 
cfion  "which  darkened  the  whole  face  of  Chris- 
tianity,  and  produced  the  worst  of  errors  ";  and  since 
its  resurrection  in  our  own  times,  it  has  divided  the 
friends  of  temperance,  produced  lying  and  calumny 
of  private  and  ministerial  character,  exalted  men, 
who  have  hardly  yet  opened  their  eyes  from  the 
drunken  doze  of  years,  to  the  rank  of  public  teach- 
ers, to  rebuke  the  Christian  ministry,  and  reform 
the  church — men  so  obstinately  perverse,  that  con- 
trary to  the  instructions  of  their  employers,  they 
spend  much  of  their  time  in  reviling  all  who  oppose 
them,  hurling  the  thunderbolts  of  their  anathema  at 
the  head  of  every  one  who  presumes  to  doubt  their 
infallibility,  and  proving  that  whether  they  are 
reformed  from  drunkenness  or  not,  they  are  not 
reformed  from  lying  and  defamation.  It  has  con- 
tradicted Divine  testimonies,  made  void  Divine  laws, 
undermined  the  authority  of  the  whole  Bible,  and 
thus  struck  at  the  heart  of  all  true  religion  and 
morality.  The  expediency  which  produces  such 
results,  may  be  called  wisdom  with  man,  but  it  is 
foolishness  with  God.  He  who  adopts  this  rule,  is 
like  a  ship  at  sea  without  ballast,  without  chart,  and 
without  compass,  at  the  absolute  mercy  of  every 


TEMPERANCE.  I43 


wind  and  wave,  and,  without  a  miracle,  will  inevi- 
tably be  foundered  or  dashed  upon  the  rocks.  The 
expediency  which  acts  in  independence  of  the  direc- 
tions of  the  Divine  word,  and  in  contradiction  to 
its  numerous  and  explicit  declarations,  is  only 
another  name  for  infidelity — that  infidelity  which, 
fighting  side  by  side  with  popery,  is  straining  every 
nerve  to  annihilate  the  authority  of  the  Bible,  and 
utterly  to  destroy  all  true  protestant  Christianity. 
It  is  this  which  gives  its  overwhelming  interest  to 
the  present  controversy.  It  is  a  strife  for  the  prize 
of  ruling  the  conscience  and  life  of  immortal  man, 
between  the  Bible  and  human  reason,  between  the 
authority  of  God,  and  the  authority  of  man.  To 
all  who  have  adopted  this  heresy,  I  say  in  my  own 
name,  and  in  the  name  of  all  the  ministers  of  Christ 
who  have  taught  you  the  truth,  '^  I  marvel  that  you 
are  so  soon  removed  from  him  that  called  you  into 
the  grace  of  Christ,  into  another  gospel :  which  is 
not  another;  but  there  be  some  that  trouble  you, 
and  would  pervert  the  gospel  of  Christ." — Gal.  i.,  6, 
7.  I  warn,  I  adjure  you,  cling  to  the  Bible  as  the 
world's  last  hope.  Let  no  siren  voice,  under  the 
specious  plea  of  science,  or  morality,  or  sanctity 
itself,  lead  you  away  from  the  voice,  the  eternal 
wisdom,  that  speaks  to  you  from  heaven.  "  All 
scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  pro- 
fitable for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for 
instruction  in  righteousness;  that  the  man  of  God 
may  be /^r/><:/,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  2}X  good 


144  SERMONS. 


works'' — 2  Tim.  iii.,  i6,  17.  "The  law  of  the  Lord 
is  perfect,  converting  the  soul;  the  testimony  of 
the  Lord  is  sure,  making  wise  the  simple ;  the 
statutes  of  the  Lord  are  right,  rejoicing  the  heart : 
the  commandment  of  the  Lord  is  pure,  enlightening 
the  eyes :  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  clean,  enduring 
forever :  the  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true,  and 
righteous  altogether." — Ps.  xix.  7-9.  "  Now,  there- 
fore, hearken  unto  me,  O  ye  children  :  for  blessed 
are  they  that  keep  my  ways.  Hear  instruction,  and 
be  wise,  and  refuse  it  not.  Blessed  is  the  man  that 
heareth  me,  watching  daily  at  my  gates,  waiting  at 
the  posts  of  my  doors :  for  whoso  findeth  me, 
findeth  life,  and  shall  obtain  favor  of  the  Lord.  But 
he  that  sinneth  against  me  wrongeth  his  own  soul : 
all  they  that  hate  me  love  death." — Prov.  viii., 
32-36. 


SERMONS  ON  THE  GEOLOGY 
OF  THE  BIBLE. 


145 


"  Through  faith  we  understand  that  the  worlds  were  framed 
by  the  word  of  God,  so  that  things  which  are  seen  were  not 
made  of  things  which  do  appear." — Hebrews  xi.,  3. 

AS  the  God  of  the  Bible  is  the  only  living  and 
true  God,  the  Creator  of  the  heavens  and  the 
earth,  so  the  Bible  itself  gives  the  only  true  account 
of  the  origin  of  the  world,  and  of  all  things  that  are 
therein.  The  speculations  of  philosophy  on  this 
subject  are  full  of  contradiction  and  absurdity,  and 
serve  only  to  darken  counsel  by  words  without 
knowledge. 

Since  the  truth  has  been  published  to  the  world, 
incessant  attempts  have  been  made  to  disprove  it. 
In  this  unholy  enterprise  cosmogonists  and  geolo- 
gists have  been  distinguished  for  their  zeal,  if  not 
for  their  ability,  some  in  avowed  opposition  to  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  and  others  under  plausible  pro- 
fessions of  respect  for  their  authority.  The  last 
class  is  most  dangerous,  inasmuch  as  their  profes- 
sions lay  to  sleep  the  vigilance  of  Christians,  until 
the  poison  of  infidelity  has  been  infused,  and  many 
are  brought  within  its  pestilential  sphere  of  influence 
who  would  otherwise  have  been  aware  of  the  danger 
and   avoided  it.      In   whatever   else   these  classes 

147 


148  SERMONS. 


differ,  they  agree  in  the  main  point  —  they  contra- 
dict the  testimony  of  holy  writ ;  and  if  their  posi- 
tion be  estabhshed,  it  gives  to  infidelity  a  fulcrum 
by  which  it  can  overturn  the  last  hope  of  man. 

I  shall  first  state  the  question,  next  confirm  the 
doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  and  of  the  church,  and 
next  refute  its  opposites. 

I.  This  is  strictly  a  theological  question,  and  not 
one  of  scientific  investigation  or  nomenclature. 
"  By  faith  we  understand  that  the  worlds  were 
framed  by  the  word  of  God,  so  that  things  which 
are  seen,  were  not  made  of  things  which  do  appear." 
— Heb.  xi.,  3.  But  for  the  testimony  of  its  Author, 
we  could  know  nothing  of  the  origin  of  the  world  or 
of  ourselves.  We  are  not  then  at  liberty  to  over- 
look that  testimony,  nor  to  put  upon  a  level  with  it 
the  inferences  of  erring  and  ignorant  men  from  the 
extremely  scanty  knowledge  which  they  have,  or 
ever  can  have,  of  the  work  itself.  Whenever  Jeho- 
vah speaks,  his  testimony  is  decisive,  and  we  are  not 
at  liberty  to  withhold  our  full  and  implicit  faith 
until  we  learn  from  other  sources  of  evidence  that 
it  is  true.  This  were,  according  to  his  own  construc- 
tion, to  treat  the  Most  High  as  a  common  liar, 
whom  we  will  not  believe  on  his  own  testimony. 
"  He  that  believeth  not  God,  hath  made  him  a  liar." 
The  most  conclusive  argument  with  a  Christian  is, 
*'  Thus  saith  the  Lord."  When  we  have  the  testi- 
mony of  the  author  of  a  work  as  to  the  time  when 
he  made  it,  and  the  materials  of  which  it  is  com- 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  149 


posed,  it  is  worse  than  useless  to  go  about  examin- 
ing the  work,  to  make  out  for  ourselves  the  same 
points  ;  which,  if  our  informer  be  true,  we  know  al- 
ready far  better  than  we  could  ever  learn  by  any  in- 
vestigation of  the  work  itself.  But  when  the  au- 
thor of  the  work  is  God,  and  he  has  told  us  when  he 
made  it,  and  that  he  had  no  pre-existing  materials 
out  of  which  it  was  constructed,  it  is  worse  than  ab- 
surd—  it  is  high-handed  rebellion  —  to  attempt  to 
make  out  from  the  very  work,  that  its  author  is  a 
liar. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Christian  church,  in  all  its 
denominations,  is  truly  expressed  in  the  Shorter 
Catechism  of  the  Westminster  Assembly— the  most 
truly  learned  and  pious  assembly  that  ever  convened 
since  the  days  of  the  apostles,  or  the  Synod  at  Jer- 
usalem. *'  The  work  of  creation,  is  God's  making 
all  things  of  nothing,  by  the  word  of  his  power,  in 
the  space  of  six  days,  and  all  very  good." 

The  opposing  doctrines,  not  of  true  science,  which 
has  always  been  the  humble  ally  and  friend  of  reve- 
lation, but  of  philosophy,  falsely  so  called,  have 
varied  their  forms  at  different  periods.  One  posi- 
tion was  that  the  world  was  older,  in  its  present  or- 
ganization, than  the  Bible  chronology  makes  it. 
This  position  is  avowedly  infidel,  and  has  been  re- 
futed by  Cuvier  himself,  the  highest  scientific  au- 
thority on  such  a  point.  That  is  not  the  question 
at  this  time.  There  are  two  other  positions  profess- 
ing respect  for  the  Scriptures,  but  agreeing  substan- 


150  SERMONS. 


tially  with  the  former  in  contradicting  the  Divine 
testimony,  which  ought  to  be  exposed  in  their  true 
colors,  so  that  if  any  one  will  maintain  them  he  may 
be  placed  where  he  of  right  belongs  in  this  respect — 
in  the  ranks,  and  fighting  side  by  side  with  the 
deadly  and  determined  enemies  of  Divine  revela- 
tion. 

One  of  these  is  that  the  period  occupied  in  mak- 
ing the  world  was  six  thousand  years,  or  periods  of 
time  of  an  indefinite  length.  On  this  point  a  few 
remarks  will  be  made  in  their  place.  But  we  have 
to  do  at  present  principally  with  the  position  of  Mr. 
Buckland,  which,  in  his  own  words,  "  suppose  the 
word  '  beginning,'  as  applied  by  Moses  in  the  first 
verse  of  the  book  of  Genesis,  to  express  an  unde- 
fined period  of  time,  which  was  antecedent  to  the 
last  great  change  that  affected  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  to  the  creation  of  its  present  animal  and 
vegetable  inhabitants,  during  which  period  a  long 
series  of  operations  and  revolutions  may  have  been 
going  on,  which,  as  they  are  wholly  unconnected 
with  the  history  of  the  humaA  race,  are  passed  over 
in  silence  by  the  sacred  historian,  whose  only  con- 
cern with  them  was  barely  to  state  that  the  matter 
of  the  universe  is  not  eternal  and  self-existent, 
but  was  originally  enacted  by  the  power  of  the  Al- 
mighty."— (Buckland's  Bridgewater  Treatise,  vol.  i, 
p.  25.) 

This  position  is  a  contradiction  to  the  received 
doctrine  of  the  Christian  church,  which  dates  the 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE,  151 

creation  of  the  world  at  the  first  six  days  of  Moses, 
and  denies  the  existence  of  its  material  before  that 
period.  Both  sides  of  a  contradiction  cannot  be 
true.  Either  the  Christian  church  or  Mr.  Buckland 
is  grievously  in  error.  The  appeal  is  **  to  the  word 
and  to  the  testimony;  if  they  speak  not  according 
to  these  things  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in 
them."  And  as  the  Bible  is  to  Christians  the  only 
infallible  rule  of  faith,  it  is  to  be  interpreted  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  by  which  we  would  interpret  any 
other  document,  and  chiefly  by  its  own  rule — "com- 
paring spiritual  things  with  spiritual." 

2.  That  the  church  here  is  not  mistaken  in  the 
doctrine  which  she  believes  and  inculcates,  will  be 
evident  to  any  one  who,  without  the  bias  of  any 
favorite  theory,  will  humbly  submit  his  understand- 
ing to  be  taught  by  the  Father  of  lights,  as  his  tes- 
timony is  recorded  in  the  history  of  Moses,  in  refer- 
ences to  it  by  different  inspired  writers,  and  by  the 
Son  himself,  and  by  the  formal  decision  of  the 
apostle.  *'  By  faith  we  understand  that  the  worlds 
were  framed  by  the  word  of  God,  so  that  things 
which  are  seen  were  NOT  made  of  things  which  do 
appear." — Heb.  xi.,  3. 

The  first  chapter  of  Genesis  contains  a  formal, 
particular,  and  chronological  account  of  the  work  of 
creation,  when  it  was  made,  and  what  was  done  in 
each  division  of  the  whole  time  employed  in  it. 
The  very  first  word  informs  us  that  the  account 
commences  in  the  beginning  of  the  whole  subject, 


152  SERMONS. 


and  of  which  before  this  period  there  was  nothing. 
The  first  act  of  creating  power  gave  being  to  the 
heavens  and  the  earth.  The  appearance  of  things 
at  that  point  is  described  in  the  second  verse.  The 
second  movement  of  Almighty  power  produces  the 
light.  Then  follows  a  description  of  the  work  at 
this  stage  of  it.  And  thus,  the  Creator  himself  in- 
forms us,  one  day  has  passed.  Here  we  have  a 
description  of  two  acts  of  Divine  power,  and  a  de- 
scription of  the  work,  following  each.  The  only  date 
of  the  whole  work,  thus  far,  is  the  first  of  the  six 
days.  The  third  movement  was  the  production  of 
the  atmosphere,  called  the  expanse  and  heavens. 
This  is  described,  and  two  days  have  passed.  The 
fourth  movement  was  the  separation  of  the  water 
and  dry  land,  and  the  production  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  and  the  third  day  is  passed.  The  sun, 
moon,  and  stars,  are  the  work  of  the  fourth  day. 
Of  the  fifth,  the  inhabitants  of  the  air,  and  the 
water.  And  the  land-animals  and  man,  of  the  sixth. 
It  is  the  obvious  and  particular  purpose  of  the  his- 
torian to  date  every  work  to  the  very  day,  and  to 
give  the  day,  not  at  the  beginning,  but  at  the  close 
of  the  works  of  that  day,  so  that  all  which  is  related 
before  the  mention  of  that  day,  and  after  the  pre- 
ceding day,  belongs  to  it ;  all,  therefore,  which  pre- 
cedes the  morning  of  the  first  day,  as  no  other  time 
is  mentioned,  belongs  to  the  work  of  that  day. 
This  interpretation  is  confirmed  not  only  by  the 
obvious  design  of  the  author,  but  from  universal 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  153 

usage  in  such  cases.  When  a  historian  gives  us  the 
annals  of  a  nation,  we  understand  him  to  say  that 
all  the  events  connected  with  a  particular  year  oc- 
curred during  that  year,  unless  he  explicitly  informs 
us  otherwise.  And  we  should  consider  it  as  the 
greatest  negligence  and  unfaithfulness,  to  record 
among  the  events  of  the  first  year  of  the  people's 
history  what  had  occurred  a  thousand  years  before. 
All  the  character  of  Moses  as  a  competent  and  faith- 
ful historian,  and  what  is  more,  the  authority  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  who  taught  him,  assures  us  that  the  date 
of  the  production  of  the  chaos  was  the  first  of  the 
six  days.  As  an  illustration  and  proof  of  this,  I 
refer  to  Josephus,  the  Jewish  historian,  who  places 
in  the  period  of  3833  years,  from  the  creation  to  the 
death  of  Isaac,  this  very  account  of  the  production 
of  the  chaos.  "  In  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth.  But  when  the  earth  did  not 
come  into  sight,  but  was  covered  with  thick  dark- 
ness, and  a  wind  moved  upon  its  surface,  God  com- 
manded that  there  should  be  light ;  and  when  that 
was  made  he  considered  the  whole  mass,  and  sep- 
arated the  light  and  the  darkness,  and  the  name  he 
gave  to  the  one  was  night,  and  the  other  he  called 
day.  And  he  named  the  beginning  of  light,  and  the 
time  of  rest  the  evening  and  the  morning,  and  this 
was  indeed  the  first  day."  Josephus,  Antiquities, 
vol.  i.,  p.  80. 

Besides  the  impropriety  of  charging  upon  Moses 
an  anachronism  so  monstrous  as  to  date  on  the  first 


154  SERMONS. 


day  of  our  present  system  what  occurred  millions  of 
years  before,  it  is  further  manifest  that  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  church  is  the  true  one,  because  the 
light  was  created  in  the  latter  half  of  the  first  day, 
and  something  must  have  been  done  in  the  part 
called  the  evening,  or  our  system  begins  half  a  day 
later  than  the  account  of  Moses.  Creation  began 
with  the  first  act  of  creating  power ;  before  that  act 
it  was  not,  but  it  began  in  the  evening,  before  there 
was  any  light,  and  no  act  is  mentioned  before  the 
creation  of  light,  but  the  creation  of  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  in  the  state  described  ;  therefore  that 
act  belongs  inevitably  to  the  first  half  of  the  first  day. 
2.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  every  passage  of 
sacred  Scripture  in  which  the  creation  is  referred  to. 
''Thus  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  finished,  and 
all  the  host  of  them.  And  on  the  seventh  day  God 
ended  his  work  which  he  had  made  ;  and  he  rested 
on  the  seventh  day  from  all  his  work  which  he  had 
made.  And  God  blessed  the  seventh  day  and  sancti- 
fied it :  because  that  in  it  he  had  rested  from  all  his 
work  which  God  created  and  made.  These  are  the 
[successive  productions  or]  generations  of  the  heav- 
ens, and  of  the  earth  when  they  were  created,  iji  the 
day  that  the  Lord  God  made  the  earth  and  the 
heavens." — Gen.  ii.,  1-4.  In  direct  reference  to 
the  previous  account  it  is  declared  to  embrace  all 
God's  works,  created  and  made,  in  heaven  and  earth, 
in  their  successive  order,  and  at  the  one  period  oc- 
cupied in  the  work,  the  first  six  days  of  time.     It  is 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  '     155 

hard  to  conceive  what  would  express  the  doctrine 
of  the  church,  if  this  language  does  not.  If  to  create 
is  more  than  to  make,  then  all  his  work  created  and 
made  was  performed  in  six  days.  Ex.  xx.,  11  : 
*'  For  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth, 
the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh 
day."  He  made  the  things  containing  and  the 
things  contained,  the  places  and  their  inhabitants. 
The  compass  of  the  language  seems  to  be  exhausted 
to  express,  in  every  possible  form,  that  God  made 
all  things  of  nothing,  in  the  space  of  six  days.  John 
i.,  1-3:  "All  things  were  made  by  him  ;  and  with- 
out him  was  not  any  thing  made  which  was  made," 
compared  with  Heb.  i.,  10 :  "  Thou  Lord,  in  the  be- 
ginning hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth,  and 
the  heavens  are  the  works  of  thine  hands.  They 
shall  perish,  but  thou  remainest."  From  these  pas- 
sages it  is  proved  that  the  Son  of  God  made  all  things 
and  without  him  there  was  nothing  but  God  ;  that 
the  beginning  of  his  creating  all  things  from  nothing 
was  when  he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth  and 
made  the  heavens — the  very  earth  and  heavens  which 
now  are,  and  are  to  be  destroyed.  "  Have  ye  not 
read,  that  he  which  made  them  at  THE  BEGINNING 
made  them  male  and  female  ?  " — Matt,  xix.,  4.  *'  But 
from  the  beginning  of  the  creation,  God  made  them 
male  and  female." — Mark  x.,  6.  Thus  the  Son  him- 
self, whose  work  creation  is,  informs  us  that  its  be- 
ginning was  the  period  of  six  days  in  which  man 
was  made. 


156  SERMONS. 


3.  This  series  of  direct  testimonies  to  the  truth 
and  certainty  of  the  common  faith  may  be  closed 
with  the  express  and  unequivocal  decision  by  the 
apostle  :  ''  Through  faith  we  understand  that  the 
worlds  were  framed  by  the  word  of  God,  so  that 
things  which  are  seen  were  not  made  of  things  which 
do  appear." — Heb.  xi.,  3.  The  things  that  are  seen 
were  not  made  of  any  pre-existent  matter  otherwise 
that  the  matter  must  appear.  The  matter  of  which 
our  world  was  made  is  manifest  to  our  senses  in  the 
present  state,  and  forms  of  it  the  things  that  are 
seen ;  these  things  had  therefore  no  previous  exist- 
ence in  any  form,  or  they  would  now  appear  in  their 
present  form.  "  The  things  that  are  seen,"  is  a  philo- 
sophical definition  of  the  present  material  things, 
since  matter  is  known  by  our  bodily  senses,  and  of 
these  material  things,  it  is  asserted  that  they  were 
not  made  of  things  that  do  appear ;  that  is,  of  their 
own,  or  any  matter,  under  any  form. 

This  text,  therefore,  if  the  authority  of  the  apostle 
is  worth  anything,  is  a  perfect  philosophical  refuta- 
tion of  the  novel  doctrine  which  some  geologists 
would  palm  upon  the  church.  Their  doctrine  is, 
the  things  that  are  seen  in  the  present  form  were 
made  of  things  that  do  appear,  the  material  of  our 
world  existed  before  the  commencement  of  the 
Mosaic  history.  The  doctrine  of  the  apostle  is  a 
point-blank  contradiction  to  it ;  the  things  that  are 
seen  were  not  made  of  things  that  do  appear — that 
is,  our  present  world  was  made  of  nothing. 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  157 

We  have  seen,  then,  by  the  unerring  light  of  sacred 
Scripture,  in  the  obvious  and  necessary  meaning  of 
the  first  chapter  of  these  records,  in  frequent  refer- 
ences to  it  by  the  inspired  writers  under  both  dis- 
pensations of  the  covenant,  and  by  the  Son  of  God 
himself,  the  Divine  Architect,  the  one  steady,  uni- 
form doctrine  that  *'  God  made  all  things  of  nothing 
by  the  word  of  his  power  IN  THE  SPACE  OF  SIX  DAYS 
and  all  very  good." 

This  was  so  clear  that  it  was  seen  and  attested  by 
the  Jews.  Josephus  places  what  is  related  in  the 
first  verse  of  Genesis,  among  the  events  of  the  first 
period  of  3833  years  from  the  creation,  to  the  death 
of  Isaac.  He  begins  that  period  with  the  creation 
of  the  chaotic  mass,  and  regards  it  as  part  of  the 
work  of  the  first  day.  The  Rabbins,  says  Dr.  A. 
Clark,  understood  the  first  verse  to  denote  that  God 
in  the  beginning  created  the  substance  of  the  heav- 
ens, and  the  substance  of  the  earth ;  i.e.,  the  prirna 
materia,  or  first  elements  out  of  which  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  were  successively  formed.  The  parti- 
cle eth,  says  Aben  Ezra,  signifies  the  substance  of 
the  thing ;  so  says  Kimchi ;  and  with  the  Cabalists 
is  often  put  mystically  for  the  beginning  and  end,  as 
Alpha  {A)  and  Omega  (H)  are  in  the  Apocalypse. 
The  Syrian  translator  understood  the  word  in  this 
sense,  and  to  express  his  meaning  has  used  the  word 
yoth,  which  has  this  signification,  and  is  very  properly 
translated  in  Walton's  Polyglot  esse  cceli  et  esse  terra, 
the  being  or  substance  of  the  heaven,  and  the  being 


158  SERMONS. 


or  substance  of  the  earth.  Ephralm  Syrus,  in  his 
comment  on  this  place,  uses  the  same  Syrian  word, 
and  appears  to  understand  it  precisely  in  the  same 
way.  Jews  and  Christians  of  all  denominations,  in 
every  age  and  every  land  to  which  the  word  of  God 
has  come,  have  declared  with  a  voice  like  the  sound 
of  many  waters,  that  they  have  seen  in  the  common 
revelation  this  same  truth.  Whence  came  this  uni- 
versal faith  of  the  Church  of  God?  Not  from  philo- 
sophy :  the  philosophers  were,  to  a  man,  either 
ignorant  of  the  truth,  or  denied  it.  Not  from  the 
light  of  nature  ;  for  where  revelation  is  not,  the 
true  doctrine  of  creation  is  unknown.  If  they  are 
mistaken,  the  mistake  must  be  charged  to  the  Book 
of  God  ;  for  to  no  other  source  can  it  be  traced.  But 
it  is  no  mistake.  It  is  a  truth  which  like  the  rock 
against  which  the  waves  dash  themselves  to  foam  has 
stood  unshaken  by  all  the  attempts  of  its  opposers, 
and  will  remain  when  heavens  and  the  earth  shall 
be  no  more. 

As  one  "  set  for  the  defense  of  the  gospel,"  and 
required  to  **  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints,"  I  have  shown  from  the  holy 
Scriptures,  in  their  plain  and  obvious  meaning,  the 
truth  of  the  doctrine  generally  held  in  the  churches 
on  this  subject. 

Christians,  cling  to  your  Bible.  Stand  fast  in  the 
faith.  Be  not  moved  away  from  the  faith  of  the 
gospel  which  you  have  heard,  in  which  you  have 
been  instructed.     **  Be  not  carried  about  with  every 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  159 

wind  of  doctrine  by  the  sleight  of  man,  and  cunning 
craftiness,  whereby  they  lay  in  wait  to  deceive." 
And  when  the  truth  is  established  by  the  testimony 
of  God,  you  ought  to  adhere  to  it  Avith  unshaken 
confidence,  and  not  for  a  moment  admit  the  possi- 
bility of  error  in  that  testimony,  whatever  argument 
may  be  brought  against  it,  and  however  honorable 
a  name  it  may  assume.  You  may  not  listen  to  the 
tempter,  even  to  suspend  your  judgment  till  he 
show  that  the  truth  is  false,  or  does  not  teach  what 
it  docs  teach.  Every  such  proposal  must  be  met  at 
the  threshold  with  the  indignant  repulse,  **  Get  thee 
behind  me,  Satan,"  or  your  faith  will  be  shaken 
by  every  wind  of  doctrine  which  the  God  of  this 
world  knows  so  well  how  to  raise.  Had  our  first 
parents  repelled  the  first  insinuation  of  the 
tempter,  they  and  their  race  had  escaped  the 
ruins  of  the  fearful  apostacy,  which  began  in  hes- 
itation and  doubt,  and  ended  in  presumption  and 
disobedience.  Gaze  with  steady,  unaverted  eye  at 
the  truth  of  the  Divine  testimony.  Pray  to  the 
Author  and  Finisher  of  your  faith,  to  increase  your 
faith. 

Believe  his  declarations,  embrace  his  promises, 
fear  his  threatenings,  and  yield  yourselves  up  to  be 
moulded  by  his  word  into  the  image  of  your  God  ; 
that  '*  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  God,  you 
may  be  changed  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to 
glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord." 


II. 


'"  Through  faith  we  understand  that  the  worlds  were  framed 
by  the  word  of  God,  so  that  things  which  are  seen  were  not 
.made  of  things  which  do  appear." — Hebrews  xi.,  3. 

THUS  far  I  have  stood  upon  the  defensive,  and 
shown  that  we  teach  and  believe  "  none  other 
things  than  Moses,  and  the  prophets,  and  apostles, 
did  write."  It  is  proper  now  that  the  tables  be 
turned,  and  it  be  demanded  of  our  assailants,  by 
what  authority  they  seek  to  overturn  the  established 
faith  of  the  Christian  church. 

Do  the  Scriptures  teach  this  new  doctrine?  No. 
Its  advocates  themselves  do  not  pretend  this. 
They  only  claim  that  they  are  silent.  "  They  do 
not  impeach  the  judgment  of  those  who  have  for- 
merly interpreted  it  (the  Mosaic  narrative)  other- 
wise, and  in  this  respect  geology  would  seem  to 
require  some  little  concession  from  the  literal  inter- 
pretation of  Scripture." — (Buckland,  p.  20.)  Here 
it  is  admitted  the  Mosaic  narrative  was  literally 
interpreted,  and  with  judgment  unimpeached,  in 
establishing  the  commonly  received  and  popular 
interpretation,  independent  of  geological  facts. 
This  is  virtually  giving  up  the  scriptural  argument. 
It  is  admitting  that  the  independent  testimony  of 

160 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  i6i 

Scripture,  literally  interpreted,  is  against  the  new 
doctrine.  As  that  testimony  is  the  only  infallible 
rule  of  faith  and  practice,  when  fairly  interpreted, 
according  to  its  own  independent  meaning,  it  de- 
cides the  question  against  every  doctrine  contrary 
to  its  own.  It  has  been  shown  that  the  Scriptures, 
literally  interpreted  according  to  the  only  known 
use  of  language,  establish  the  doctrine  which  con- 
tradicts this  new  theory.  But  the  rule  of  inter- 
preting by  the  aid  of  language,  is  indispensable  to 
the  attainment  of  any  information  from  any  docu- 
ment. To  ask  us  to  give  up  that  rule,  is  equivalent 
to  a  request  that  we  would  give  up  the  Bible  as  a 
revelation  ;  nay,  if  the  new  principle  of  interpreta- 
tion be  true,  it  is  worse  than  waste-paper — it  mis- 
leads those  who  trust  in  it.  It  says  one  thing,  and 
means  its  opposite. 

In  exposing  the  errors  of  the  theory  of  geologists, 
I  shall  examine  their  attempt  to  reconcile  it  with 
the  Mosaic  account ;  then  show  its  contrariety  to  it 
and  the  other  parts  of  Scripture  on  the  same  sub- 
ject ;  and  then  make  some  remarks  on  the  theory, 
as  occupying  the  ground  of  open  and  avowed  infi- 
delity. 

I.  Examine  their  reasons  for  saying  that  their 
hypothesis  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  Scriptures. 
They  confine  their  remarks  to  the  Mosaic  narrative, 
and  almost  exclusively  to  the  first  and  second  verses 
of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  as  if  the  Scripture 
were  silent  upon  the  subject  everywhere  else.      This 


1 62  SERMONS. 


policy  indicates  their  consciousness  of  the  weakness 
of  their  cause,  or  their  culpable  negligence  in  not 
searching  the  Scriptures  more  fully  and  accurately 
before  they  venture  to  set  aside  one  of  their  most 
decisive  announcements. 

{a)  The  first  reason  is :  "  It  is  nowhere  affirmed 
that  God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth  on  the 
first  day,  but  in  the  beginning  "  (p.  26).  This  argu- 
ment would  prove  that  he  had  not  made  anything 
on  any  of  the  days  ;  for  God  is  not  said  to  create 
the  light  on  the  first  day,  nor  the  firmament  on  the 
second,  nor  the  sea  and  land  on  the  third,  nor  the 
luminaries  on  the  fourth,  nor  sea  animals  and  birds 
on  the  fifth,  nor  land  animals  and  man  on  the  sixth. 
But  in  the  very  way  in  which  he  refers  these  respec- 
tive works  to  their  proper  days,  in  the  same  way 
does  he  refer  the  creation  of  the  heaven  and  the 
earth  to  the  first  day. 

{b)  Again,  it  is  said  :  *'  The  creation  of  each  day 
is  preceded  by  the  declaration  that  God  said  or 
willed  that  such  things  should  be,  ('  And  God  said ') 
and,  therefore  the  very  form  of  the  narrative  seems 
to  imply  that  the  creation  of  the  first  day  began 
when  these  words  are  first  used,  i.e.,  with  the  crea- 
tion of  light  in  verse  three  "  (p.  29).  But  this  phrase 
is  used  not  only  at  the  beginning  of  the  work  of  the 
day,  but  in  the  middle  of  it,  as  in  the  work  of  the 
sixth  day,  after  the  creation  of  the  land  animals,  we 
read — "  And  God  said,  Let  us  make  man  '*  (ver.  26). 
If  this  phrase  may  be  used   in   the  middle  of  the 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  163 

work  of  the  sixth  day,  it  may  with  equal  propriety 
be  used  in  the  middle  of  the  work  of  the  first.  The 
difference  in  the  form  of  speech  may  be  intended  to 
mark  the  difference  between  creating  and  making. 

{c)  "  Many  of  the  fathers  supposed  the  first  two 
verses  of  Genesis  to  contain  an  account  of  a  distinct 
and  prior  act  of  creation.  Some,  as  Augustine, 
Theodoret,  and  others,  that  of  the  creation  of  mat- 
ter ;  others,  that  of  the  elements ;  others  again — 
and  they  the  most  numerous — imagine  that  not 
these  visible  heavens,  but  what  they  think  to  be 
called  elsewhere  the  highest  heavens,  the  heaven  of 
heavens,  are  here  spoken  of  "  (p.  29). 

These  are  mere  opinions,  and  far  more  than  coun- 
terbalanced by  the  concurrent  opinions  of  every 
department  of  the  church  of  God,  in  every  age,  un- 
til this  day.  Besides,  none  of  their  opinions  are  any 
support  to  the  doctrine  of  geologists,  that  this  world 
was  made  out  of  the  wreck  of  a  former  world. 

{d)  '*  In  some  old  editions  of  the  English  Bible, 
where  there  is  no  division  into  verses,  you  actually 
find  a  break  at  the  end  of  what  is  now  the  second 
verse.  And  in  Luther's  Bible,  Wittemberg,  1557, 
you  have  in  addition  the  figure  i  placed  against  the 
third  verse."  But  this  division  in  translations  is  of 
no  authority  in  fixing  the  meaning  of  Moses.  Be- 
sides, the  paragraphs  added  to  the  text  of  the  He- 
brew Bible  were  intended  to  distinguish  the  different 
parts  of  the  creation,  and  not  the  times  in  which  it 
was  performed.     Accordingly,  while    one  of   these 


1 64  SERMONS. 


divides  the  work  of  the  first  day  into  two  parts,  two 
of  them  divide  that  of  the  sixth  into  three. 

{e)  Professor  Pusey  says  (p.  30),  "  that  the  words, 
^  Let  there  be  light/  by  no  means  necessarily  imply 
any  more  than  the  English  words  by  which  they  are 
translated,  that  light  had  never  existed  before  ;  they 
may  speak  only  of  the  substitution  of  light  for  dark- 
ness upon  the  surface  of  this  our  planet."  And  yet 
this  same  Dr.  Pusey  has  told  us,  "  that  the  creation 
of  the  first  day  began  with  the  creation  of  light  in 
verse  3d  "  (p.  29) ;  that  making,  when  spoken  in 
reference  to  God,  is  equivalent  to  creating.  Does 
he  mean  by  creating  the  light,  an  incipient  disper- 
sion of  dense  vapors?  Who  ever  heard  such  lan- 
guage to  express  such  an  event  ? 

(/")  This  case  is  said  to  be  of  the  same  kind  with 
astronomical  phenomena;  and  as  Moses  does  not 
teach  astronomy,  therefore  neither  does  he  teach 
cosmogony. 

But  the  cases  are  entirely  unlike :  first,  because 
the  Scriptures  contradict  the  cosmogony  of  geolog- 
ists, while  they  say  nothing  about  the  Newtonian 
system  of  astronomy ;  secondly,  because,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  work  of  creation,  the  Scriptures  use  lan- 
guage in  the  sense  in  which  it  was  understood  at 
the  time  when  they  were  written  ;  but  geologists 
give  it  a  meaning  which  it  never  had  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world  until  this  hour.  According 
to  these  persons,  when  God  said,  "  Let  there  be 
light  "  on  the  first  day,  and  when  he  made  the  sun, 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  165 

and  moon,  and  stars  on  the  fourth  day,  he  did  not 
make  either  of  them.  He  only  cleared  away  the 
dense  vapors — the  fog — that  hid  them  from  view  ! 
If  this  be  the  way  the  Scriptures  are  to  be  under- 
stood, the  oracle  at  Delphi  was  clear  as  the  sun 
compared  with  the  darkness  that  may  be  felt.  If 
this  be  their  manner  of  communicating  knowledge, 
neither  the  outposts  nor  the  citadel  are  worth  a 
moment's  contest. 

Lastly.  "  Dr.  Chalmers  favors  the  geologists."  If 
he  does,  he  must  answer  to  his  Master  for  deserting 
his  post.  But  he  calls  these  great  geological  revela- 
tions '' pretended  discoveries^  Even  he,  then,  is  not 
sure  they  are  true.  And  while  he  spurns  the  idea 
of  conceding  to  these  discoveries  the  literalities  of 
the  text,  he  refers  to  the  only  principle  of  interpre- 
tation by  which  they  can  be  vindicated,  with  an 
"  IF  it  may  be  adopted."  And  what  is  that  princi- 
ple? "To  suppose  that  the  Mosaic  description 
proceeds,  not  in  the  order  of  creation  actually,  but 
in  its  order  optically ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  the 
sun  and  moon  were  not  first  made,  but  first  made 
visible  on  the  fourth  day." — (Hitchcock,  p.  332.) 
So,  then,  the  work  of  the  fourth  day  was  not  to 
create  or  make  anything,  but  to  do  what  is  done 
often  in  an  hour — clear  away  a  fog  which  hides  the 
face  of  the  sun  !  But  what  will  he  do  with  the 
stars?  Were  they,  too,  visible  as  well  as  the  sun? 
And  who  saw  them  before  either  the  animals  or 
man  were  created  ?     If  Dr.  Chalmers  will  abandon 


1 66  SERMONS. 


an  outpost  which  he  once  held  in  common  with  his 
brethren,  and  return  to  the  citadel,  and,  instead  of 
aiding  those  who  stand  against  the  enemy,  will  turn 
his  artillery  upon  them,  he  acts  the  part  which,  in 
any  other  tactics  but  the  defense  of  the  Bible, 
would  subject  an  officer  to  be  cashiered  for  coward- 
ice, or  broken  upon  the  wheel  for  treason  to  his 
king. 

2.  Let  us  next  compare  this  theory  with  the 
Scriptures  which  treat  on  this  subject.  The  theory 
of  pre-existent  worlds  is  contradicted  by  the  history 
of  creation  given  by  Moses,  who  states  the  creation 
of  the  matter  of  the  world  in  immediate  connection 
with  its  reduction  into  its  present  form  ;  whereas, 
if  this  theory  were  true,  he  must  have  informed  us 
of  these  new  facts,  that  there  were  other  worlds  be- 
fore ours,  and  that  from  the  wreck  of  one  of  them 
ours  was  constructed.  Such  an  important  fact 
could  no  more  be  omitted  than  the  fact  of  the 
deluge.  That  Moses  has  given  us  a  particular  ac- 
count of  the  deluge,  demonstrates  that  he  could 
not  possibly  have  passed  unnoticed  the  overthrow 
of  the  world,  which  God  created  back  in  indefinite 
duration,  and  out  of  the  ruins  of  one  of  which  ours, 
Phoenix-like,  has  arisen.  This  theory  supposes  that 
he  has  described  the  state  of  the  wreck,  without 
telling  us  it  was  a  wreck,  or  how  it  came  to  be  in 
the  condition  described.  It  supposes  such  a  chasm 
in  the  history,  as  there  would  have  been  if  Moses 
had  omitted  the  sixth  and  seventh  chapters  of  Gen- 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  167 

esis  ;  and  without  intimating  that  anything  remark- 
able had  happened,  had  passed  from  the  history  of 
Lamech  to  that  of  Noah,  riding  with  his  family  and 
the  nucleus  of  a  new  world  upon  the  waters  of  a 
universal  deluge.  It  supposes  that  when  the 
Scriptures  speak  of  the  creation  of  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  they  do  not  mean  that  the  heavens  were 
either  created  or  made,  or  that  any  change  passed 
upon  them,  in  the  period  to  which  they  refer ;  and 
that  the  earth  instead  of  being  created  or  made, 
only  underwent  some  change  in  its  outer  crust  ; 
that  the  creation  of  which  they  speak  was  neither 
the  first  production  and  regular  formation  of  the 
heavens  and  the  earth,  which  took  place  millions  of 
millions  of  years  before,  nor  the  last  change  which 
had  passed  upon  them  at  the  deluge,  which  they  do 
not  pretend  is  ever  called  the  creation.  The  pres- 
ent creation,  then,  is  neither,  according  to '  this 
theory,  the  first  and  proper  creation,  nor  the  last 
formation.  What  then  ?  The  last  formation  but 
one,  when  man  was  made,  and  some  of  the  animals 
of  the  former  worlds  reproduced,  and  others  added 
to  them  !  What  the  Bible  calls  creation,  this  theory 
calls  a  change  upon  the  surface.  What  the  Bible 
represents  as  an  original  production,  this  theory 
represents  as  only  a  reproduction.  Those  who  can 
reconcile  all  that,  have  little  reason  to  deride  the 
credulity  of  the  church,  which  has  relied  upon  the 
plain  and  uniform  meaning  of  the  holy  oracles,  in 
believing,   for  nearly  six    thousand  years,   that    in 


1 68  SERHIONS. 


"  six  days  God  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  and 
all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day "; 
and  that  "  the  worlds  were  framed  by  the  word  of 
God,  so  that  the  things  which  ARE  SEEN  were  NOT 
made  of  things  which  do  appear." 

The  Bible  says,  Gen.  ii.,  4,  that  the  first  chapter 
contains  the  account  of  the  successive  productions 
of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  when  they  were 
CREATED,  *'  IN  THE  DAY  that  the  Lord  God  made 
the  earth  and  the  heavens  ";  that  is,  the  whole  of 
these  works  were  performed  in  the  one  period  of 
six  days  referred  to.  But  this  theory  says  they 
were  performed  at  many  and  remote  periods  com- 
prising millions  of  years. 

The  Bible  says,  Ex.  xx.,  1 1 :  "  For  in  six  days  the 
Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that 
in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day  ;  wherefore 
the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it." 
But  this  theory  says,  that  in  these  six  days  he 
neither  made  heaven,  nor  earth,  nor  sea,  for  they  all 
were  made  long  before ;  and  so  far  from  making  all 
things  in  them,  that  there  were  in  them  innumera- 
ble remains  of  the  animals  and  vegetables  of  former 
worlds. 

The  Bible  says,  Mark  x.,  6,  that  man  was  made, 
and  marriage  instituted  in  that  period  of  six  days 
in  which  creation  began, — "■  FROM  THE  BEGINNING 
of  the  creation  God  made  them  male  and  female." 
But  this  theory  asserts  that  the  creation  began  long 
before  in  worlds  on  worlds-  unnumbered.     It  would 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  169 

have  been  as  proper  to  date  the  birth  of  John  at  the 
beginning  of  the  creation  as  the  institution  of  naar- 
riage  :  they  would  both  be  indefinitely  remote  from 
the  true  date. 

The  Bible  says,  Heb.  i%,  10,  ii  :  "  Thou,  Lord,  in 
the  beginning  hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth  ; 
and  the  heavens  are  the  works  of  thy  hands.  They 
shall  perish."  These  very  heavens,  and  this  very 
earth,  which  now  are  and  await  their  destruction. 
But  this  theory  asserts  it  was  a  different  earth,  in 
which  no  man  dwelt,  and  heavens  which  no  man 
saw  until  millions  of  ages  afterwards,  when  they  are 
said  to  be  made,  although,  at  that  time,  they  were 
neither  created  nor  made. 

The  Bible  says :  *'  The  things  which  are  seen  were 
NOT  made  of  things  which  do  appear  ";  i.e.,  the  vis- 
ible creation  was  made  of  no  pre-existent  matter. 
But  this  theory  asserts  that  the  very  things  which 
are  now  seen  WERE  made  of  things  that  do  appear ; 
that  is,  the  present  world  is  only  another  world  a 
little  modified  and  altered  to  suit  its  present  inhab- 
itants. 

Between  the  Bible,  then,  and  this  theory,  there  is 
obvious,  palpable,  and  irreconcilable  contradiction. 
In  the  history  of  Moses,  in  the  law  delivered  by 
Jehovah  himself  from  Sinai,  and  recorded  by  him- 
self on  tables  of  stone,  in  prophecies,  and  in  doc- 
trinal discussions,  the  subject  of  creation  is  presented 
in  one  and  the  same  unvarying  aspect.  And  no 
principle  of  interpretation    exists,    or   can    be  in- 


lyo  SERMOArS. 


vented,  to  reconcile  the  testimony  of  holy  writ  with 
the  theory  of  these  geologists,  which  will  not  wipe 
out,  as  with  a  sponge,  the  whole  meaning  of  the 
oracles  of  God.  Another  theory  is  held  by  other 
geologists  equally  at  war  with  the  necessary  mean- 
ing of  the  word  of  truth,  that  the  days  in  which  the 
work  of  creation  was  performed  need  not  be  under- 
stood to  imply  the  same  length  of  time  which  is 
now  **  occupied  by  a  single  revolution  of  the  globe, 
but  successive  periods,  each  of  great  extent." 

To  sustain  this  meaning  of  the  word  day  in  this 
connection — the  first  chapter  of  Genesis — neither 
Mr.  Buckland,  nor  Professor  Silliman,  whom  he 
quotes  as  favorable  to  this  interpretation,  give  any 
reason  whatever,  drawn  from  the  Scriptures,  or  the 
laws  of  interpretation.  All  that  I  have  heard  or 
seen  as  the  shadow  of  an  argument  is,  that  the  word 
is  used  in  various  senses  in  different  parts  of  Scrip- 
tures, as  well  as  in  common  discourse.  But,  because 
a  word  has  different  significations,  it  does  not  there- 
fore mean  everything  or  anything  you  please,  which 
this  argument  implies. 

That  rule  would  throw  all  language  into  chaos ; 
so,  to  help  out  these  splendid  discoveries  in  science, 
we  are  modestly  asked  to  give  up  all  the  determinate 
meaning  of  human  language.  When  a  word  has  dif- 
ferent meanings,  its  most  common  signification  is  to 
be  preferred,  unless  something  in  the  context,  or 
other  parts  of  Scripture,  require  another  of  its 
meanings. 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  17 1 

In  the  use  of  this  word  in  the  first  chapter  of 
Genesis,  the  most  common  meaning,  or  period  of 
twenty-four  hours,  is  not  only  unencumbered  with 
any  difficulty,  but  necessarily  required  by  the  con- 
text, and  other  passages  of  Scripture  which  refer  to 
it.  The  evening  and  the  morning,  the  darkness  and 
the  light  describe  that  period  during  all  generations 
of  men. 

It  is  said,  after  the  work  of  six  days  :  "  And  on 
the  seventh  day  God  ended  his  work  which  he  had 
made  ;  and  he  rested  on  the  seventh  day  from  all 
his  work  which  he  had  made.  And  God  blessed  the 
seventh  day,  and  sanctified  it." — Gen.  ii.  2,  3.  This 
was  the  institution  of  the  weekly  Sabbath,  from 
which  arose  the  division  of  time  into  weeks,  so 
common,  even  among  nations  which  had  not  a 
written  revelation.  In  the  fourth  commandment 
this  passage  in  Genesis  is  referred  to  as  containing 
the  reason  for  keeping  the  Sabbath  :  **  Remember 
the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy.  Six  days  shalt 
thou  labor  and  do  all  thy  work ;  but  the  seventh 
day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God  :  .  .  .  . 
for  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth, 
the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  sev- 
enth day  :  wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath 
day,  and  hallowed  it." — Ex.  xx.  8-11.  Here  it  is 
expressly  asserted  that  the  day  which  the  Lord 
sanctified  and  blessed  is  the  seventh  day,  which  fol- 
lows six  days  of  labor  or  work.  After  six  days' 
work  God  rested  the  seventh,  and   commands  men 


172  SERMONS. 


to  follow  his  example.  Now,  what  men  are  re- 
quired to  do  in  this  respect  is  what  God  has  done; 
but  men  are  required  to  do  their  servile  works  on 
the  other  six  days  of  the  week,  and  rest  from  them 
on  the  seventh.  This  is  almost  too  obvious  for 
illustration  ;  and  no  human  being,  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world,  ever  understood  these  days 
otherwise,  until  geology  was  produced,  and  must 
be  sustained,  although  at  the  cost  to  the  church  of 
her  Bible,  and  to  mankind  of  the  use  of  their 
tongues  and  their  pens,  for  if  words  have  no  de- 
terminate meaning,  it  is  useless  either  to  speak  or 
to  write.  The  common-sense  view  of  this  subject 
is  confirmed  by  the  egregious  absurdities  which 
flow  from  the  lately  invented  meaning.  According 
to  the  lowest  reckoning  on  this  scale  of  a  thousand 
years  for  one  day,  the  meaning  of  these  Scriptures 
is,  that  God  worked  six  thousand  years,  two  thous- 
and of  which  were  occupied  in  clearing  away  a  fog, 
and  then  rested  a  thousand  years  ;  therefore,  he 
commands  all  men  on  earth  to  work  six  thousand 
years,  and  then  rest  the  seventh  !  But  as  no  human 
being  ever  lived  one  thousand  years,  much  less  six, 
the  command  is  an  intrinsic  absurdity.  On  this 
supposition  no  Sabbath  has  ever  been  kept  on 
earth,  for  the  six  working  days  are  not  yet  over. 
Had  Adam  lived  to  this  hour,  he  would  not  have 
reached  his  first  Sabbath.  The  birds  and  fishes 
made  on  the  fifth  day  must  have  lived  five  hundred 
years  in  continual  darkness.     One  side  of  the  globe 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  I73 

scorched,  and  the  other  frozen,  with  intolerable 
heat  and  cold,  how  could  either  vegetables  or  ani- 
mals exist  at  at  all  ? 

Thus  it  has  been  shown  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
church  and  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  on  the  subject 
of  the  creation — the  first  article  of  revealed  truth — 
are  identical ;  that  the  attempt  to  reconcile  the 
theories  of  geologists  with  the  direct  and  uniform 
testimony  of  God,  is  an  outrage  upon  all  scriptural 
exposition,  an  insult  to  the  common  sense  of  the 
community,  and  incompatible  with  the  respect  due 
to  the  word  of  Him  that  cannot  lie.  Many  addi- 
tional considerations  might  be  urged  to  show  the 
dangerous  tendency  of  these  dogmata.  I  mention 
a  very  few  of  them,  just  as  a  sample  of  the  contents 
of  this  Pandora's  box  : 

1.  By  identifying,  in  the  meaning  of  the  word 
"  beginning,"  the  duration  of  the  Son  of  God  with 
the  duration  of  our  world,  they  have  degraded  Him 
from  the  proper  eternity  which  belongs  to  Him  to  a 
period  of  indefinite  but  still  finite  existence,  before 
which  He  was  not,  or  else  they  make  the  creation 
itself  eternal,  which  is  to  confound  the  attributes  of 
the  creature  and  the  Creator.  Those  who  believe 
this  argument  from  the  indefinite  period  indicated 
by  the  word  beginning,  because  it  is  said,  '*  In  the 
beginning  was  the  Word,"  to  be  consistent,  must 
be  either  Arians  or  Atheists. 

2.  This  scheme  represents  our  earth  as  a  scene  of 
carnage  and  death  for  millions  of  millions  of  years 


174  SERMONS. 


before  the  creation  of  man,  or  any  creature  upon  it 
capable  of  sin.  But  the  Bible  represents  death  in 
our  world  as  a  consequence  of  sin,  not  only  to  man 
the  sinner,  but  to  all  his  dependents  ;  and  the  curse 
rests  upon  the  world,  which  is  his  habitation. 
"  Cursed  be  the  ground  for  thy  sake."  "  For  the 
creature  was  made  subject  to  vanity,  not  willingly, 
but  by  reason  of  Him  that  hath  subjected  the  same 
in  hope  ;  the  whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth 
until  now,  waiting  for  the  adoption,  to  wit,  the  re- 
demption of  our  body."  But  if  geologists  be  right, 
the  apostacy  of  man  wrought  no  change,  in  this 
respect,  upon  the  world  or  its  inhabitants. 

Christians,  are  you  ready  for  this  ? 

Let  every  presumptuous  theorist  beware  how  he 
touches  upon  the  prerogatives  of  that  Almighty 
Being,  who  spake  and  it  was  done,  who  commanded 
and  it  stood  fast,  the  Amen,  the  faithful  and  true 
Witness,  the  beginning  of  the  creation  of  God  ;  or 
if  they  will  prefer  their  empty  speculations  to  the 
sure  word  of  the  Creator  and  King  Eternal,  let 
them  prepare  to  meet  his  awful  challenge:  '*  Who 
is  this  that  darkeneth  counsel  by  words  without 
knowledge  ?  Gird  up  now  thy  loins  like  a  man,  for 
I  will  demand  of  thee,  and  answer  thou  me.  Where 
wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth  ? 
Declare,  if  thou  hast  understanding."  "  Shall  he 
that  contendeth  with  the  Almighty,  instruct  him  ? 
He  that  reproveth  God,  let  him  answer  it."  May 
every  such  person  soon    be  brought  to  feel,   and 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  1 75 

speak,  and  act  as  one  of  old,  who  had  spoken  unad- 
visedly with  his  lips, — *'  I  have  heard  of  thee  with 
the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but  now  mine  eye  seeth 
thee,  wherefore  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust 
and  ashes  !  " 


III. 


"  Through  faith  we  understand  that  the  worlds  were  framed 
by  the  word  of  God,  so  that  things  which  are  seen  were  not 
made  of  things  which  do  appear. — Heb.  xi.  3. 

Here,  then,  the  question  might  rest,  if  men  would 
submit  their  understanding  to  be  taught  by  Him 
whc  is  Light. 

But  as  infidels  glory  in  their  pretended  discover- 
ies as  a  complete  refutation  of  the  claims  of  the 
Bible  to  be  a  Divine  revelation,  and  as  Christians 
would  desire  to  know  how  these  infidels  are  to  be 
met,  it  is  proper  to  inquire  into  their  boasted  dis- 
coveries. In  meeting  the  infidel  philosophers  on 
the  common  ground  of  right  reason,  it  is  neither 
wise  nor  right  to  abandon  the  vantage-ground  on 
which  the  true  doctrine  now  stands,  supported  by 
all  the  evidence  of  an  unbroken  chain  of  historic 
testimony  such  as  sustains  no  other  documents  on 
earth,  the  miracles  which  have  been  wrought,  and 
the  prophecy  which  has  been  fulfilled,  and  is  fulfill- 
ing before  our  eyes,  the  unexampled  diffusion  of  a 
religion  which  is  at  war  with  all  men's  natural  and 
corrupt  inclinations,  and  in  despite  of  all  that 
threatened  to  make  its  success  impossible,  and  the 
beneficial  influence  which  it  exerts  upon  individu- 

176 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  177 

als  and  communities.  All  this  is  not  to  be  over- 
looked in  a  question  which  respects  the  truth  of 
the  history,  and  laws,  and  doctrines  of  the  Bible. 
All  this  mass  of  evidence  must  be  fairly  set  aside 
before  any  position  can  be  established  which  could 
fasten  upon  that  book  the  charge  of  untruth.  The 
argument,  then,  which  is  with  one  fell  swoop  to 
banish  revelation  from  the  earth,  and  leave  us  to 
grope  our  way  in  the  midnight  darkness  of  unaided 
reason,  is  thus  stated  by  Mr.  Buckland.  (Buck- 
land's  Bridgewater  Treatise,  vol.  i.,  pp.  22,  23)  : 
"■  The  enormous  thickness  and  almost  infinite  sub- 
divisions of  the  stratified  rocks,  and  with  the  num- 
erous and  regular  successions  which  they  contain 
of  the  remains  of  animals  and  vegetables  differing 
more  and  more  widely  from  existing  species  as  the 
strata  in  which  we  find  them  are  placed  at  greater 
depths — the  fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  these 
remains  belong  to  extinct  genera,  and  almost  all  of 
them  to  extinct  species,  that  lived,  multiplied,  and 
died  on  or  near  the  spots  where  they  are  now 
found,  shows  that  the  strata  in  which  they  occur 
were  deposited  slowly  and  gradually,  during  long 
periods  of  time  and  at  widely  distant  intervals. 
These  extinct  animals  and  vegetables  could,  there- 
fore, have  formed  no  part  of  the  creation  with  which 
we  are  immediately  connected."  Here  we  have  the 
facts  and  the  conclusion  ;  but  how  they  are  con- 
nected remains  a  mystery.  How  long  it  requires  to 
form  these  strata  no  man   can  tell  ;  and,  therefore, 


178  SERMONS. 


no  man  knows  that  the  nearly  six  thousand  years 
of  our  world's  duration,  and  the  creative  power  of 
the  Almighty,  are  not  sufificient  to  account  for 
them.  The  utter  inconclusiveness  of  all  such  con- 
jectures— for  they  are  nothing  more — is  established 
by  a  parallel  instance  recorded  in  Home's  Intro- 
duction to  the  Critical  Study  of  the  Scriptures, 
vol.  i.,  pp.  168,  169  :  "  Decisive  as  these  facts  are, 
it  has  been  attempted  to  set  aside  the  Mosaic  nar- 
rative by  some  alleged  marks  of  antiquity  which 
certain  Continental  philosophers  have  affirmed  to 
exist  in  the  strata  of  the  lava  of  Mount  Etna. 
Thus  Count  Borch  has  attempted  to  prove  that 
volcanic  mountain  to  be  eight  thousand  years  old,  by 
the  different  strata  of  lava  which  have  been  dis- 
covered. And  in  the  vaults  and  pits  which  have 
been  sunk  to  a  great  depth  about  Etna,  the  Canon 
Recupero  afifirmed  that  seven  strata  of  lava  have 
been  found,  each  with  a  surface  of  soil  upon  them, 
which  (he  assumes)  would  require  two  thousand 
years  to  accumulate  upon  each  stratum  ;  and  rea- 
soning from  analogy,  he  calculates  that  the  lowest 
of  these  strata  must  have  flowed  from  the  mountain 
fourteen  thousand  years  ago.  Nothing  can  be  more 
fallacious  than  this  argument,  if  indeed  it  deserves 
to  be  dignified  with  the  name  of  an  argument ;  for 
who  knows  what  causes  have  operated  to  produce 
volcanic  eruptions  at  very  unequal  periods  ?  Who 
has  kept  a  register  of  the  eruptions  of  any  burning 
mountain  for  one  thousand  years,  to  say  nothing  of 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  179 

three  or  four  thousand  ?  Who  can  say  that  the 
strata  of  the  earth  were  formed  in  equal  periods? 
The  time  for  the  formation  of  the  uppermost  and 
last  is  probably  not  known,  much  less  the  respective 
periods  of  the  lower  strata.  They  build  one  hy- 
pothesis upon  another,  and  to  believe  their  whole 
argument  requires  stronger  faith  than  to  believe  a 
miracle.  Faith  in  a  miracle  rests  upon  testimony, 
but  faith  in  their  scheme  must  be  founded  on  an 
extreme  desire  to  prove  a  falsehood.  But  the  anal- 
ogy on  which  it  has  been  attempted  to  build  the 
hypothesis  just  mentioned  is  contradicted  by 
another  analogy  which  is  grounded  on  more  cer- 
tain facts.  Etna  and  Vesuvius  resemble  each  other 
in  the  causes  that  produce  their  eruptions,  in  the 
nature  of  their  lava,  and  in  the  time  necessary  to 
mellow  them  into  soil  fit  for  vegetation.  This  be- 
ing admitted,  which  no  philosopher  will  deny,  the 
Canon  Recupero's  analogy  will  prove  just  nothing 
at  all.  We  can  produce  an  instance  of  seven  different 
lavas,  with  interjacent  strata  of  vegetable  earth,  which 
have  flowed  from  Mount  Vesuvius  within  the  space, 
not  of  fourteen  thousand,  but  of  somewhat  less 
than  fourteen  hundred  years ;  for  these,  according 
to  our  analogy,  a  stratum  of  lava  may  cover  with 
vegetable  soil  in  about  tzvo  himdred  and  fifty  years, 
instead  of  requiring  two  thousand  for  that  purpose. 
The  eruption  of  Vesuvius  which  destroyed  Her- 
cuianeum  and  Pompeii  is  rendered  still  more  cele- 
brated by  the  death  of  the  elder  Pliny,  recorded  in 


l8o  SERMONS. 


his  nephew's  letter  to  Tacitus.  This  event  happened 
A.  D.  79 ;  but  we  are  informed  by  unquestionable  au- 
thority that  the  matter  which  covers  Herculaneum 
is  not  the  produce  of  one  eruption  only,  for  there  are 
evident  marks  that  the  matter  of  six  eruptions  has 
taken  its  course  over  that  which  lies  immediately 
over  the  town,  and  which  was  the  cause  of  its  de- 
struction, and  these  strata  are  either  of  lava  or  of 
burnt  matter,  with  veins  of  good  soil  between,  whence 
it  is  evident  with  what  ease  a  little  attention  and 
increase  of  knowledge  many  remove  a  great  dififi- 
culty." 

The  argument  against  the  geologists  from  this 
extract  is  from  the  less  to  the  greater.  If  profane 
civil  history  has  silenced  forever  the  conclusions  of 
geology  in  the  cases  of  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum, 
much  more  should  the  better  authenticated  history 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  silence  all  similar 
calculations  which  are  contradicted  by  its  UNQUES- 
TIONABLE testimony.  Indeed,  Mr.  Buckland  him- 
self is  conscious  of  the  weakness  of  his  argument 
from  the  different  strata.  He  says :  **  Indeed,  the 
mineral  character  of  the  inorganic  matter  of  which 
the  earth's  strata  are  composed  presents  so  similar  a 
succession  of  beds  of  sandstone,  clay,  and  limestone, 
repeated  irregularly,  not  only  in  different  but  even 
in  the  same  formations,  that  similarity  of  mineral 
composition  is  but  an  uncertain  proof  of  contempo- 
raneous origin,  while  the  surest  test  of  identity  of 
time  is  afforded  by  the  correspondence  of  organic 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  l8i 

remains.  In  fact  WITHOUT  THESE  the  proofs  of  the 
lapse  of  such  long  periods  as  geology  shows  to  have 
been  occupied  in  the  formation  of  the  strata  of  the 
earth,  would  have  been  comparatively /^££/ and  inde- 
cisive."— (p.  93.)  When  an  anxious  advocate  ad- 
mits that  the  proofs  which  are  adduced  to  sustain 
half  his  argument  are  comparatively  few,  undecisive, 
and  uncertain,  we  may  consider  that  part  of  it  as 
abandoned,  more  especially  when  he  himself  fur- 
nishes conclusive  reasons  to  overthrow  its  entirety. 
The  argument  from  the  strata  is  derived  from  their 
nature  and  locations  ;  and  these,  it  seems,  are  re- 
peated irregularly,  not  only  in  different  but  in  the 
same  formations.  How  any  regular  or  settled  con- 
clusion can  be  drawn  from  such  evidence  requires 

"  Optics  sharp,  I  ween, 
Which  see  what  is  not  to  be  seen." 

The  argument  upon  which  he  relies  is  derived  from 
the  animal  remains.  And  what  is  the  argument? 
Why,  the  greater  the  depth  of  these  strata,  the  more 
remains  of  unknown  animals  are  found,  and  these 
have  lived,  and  multiplied,  and  died  where  they  are 
found.  Hence,  it  is  concluded  that  these  unknown 
animals  belonged  to  other  worlds  than  ours.  And 
yet  it  is  admitted  that  some  known  animals  are 
found  in  all  the  strata.  But  this  is  a  conclusion 
drawn  from  ignorance  not  from  knowledge.  If  it  be 
asked,  Why  can  not  these  remains  belong  to  our 
world  ?  the  answer  is  :  We  do  not  know  them.  And 
is    it   certain  that  geologists  know  all  the  beasts, 


102  SERMONS. 


fishes,  birds,  reptiles,  and  vegetables  that  have  ex- 
isted since  the  creation  of  our  present  world,  before 
and  since  the  deluge  in  the  days  of  Noah?  If  they 
say  they  do,  I  demand  their  proof;  for  I  don't  be- 
lieve one  word  of  the  assertion,  and  I  venture  to 
say  no  human  being  but  themselves  does.  If  they 
say  they  do  not  know,  I  demand — How  they  know 
that  these  remains  are  not  of  precisely  these  un- 
known animals  and  vegetables  ?  Their  whole  argu- 
ment, then,  terminates  in  darkness.  It  is  like  noth- 
ing in  the  shape  of  argument  but  that  by  which  it 
was  undertaken  to  prove  that  America  was  discov- 
ered by  the  Swedes,  or  some  other  nation  than  the 
Spaniards,  before  Columbus  discovered  it.  Their 
argument  was:  **  On  a  certain  time,  long  before  Co- 
lumbus, a  certain  vessel  left  one  of  their  ports,  and 
was  never  heard  of  again ;  and  if  it  did  not  go  to 
America,  where  did  it  go  ?  Moreover,  the  argument 
is  not  only  entirely  baseless,  but  is  entirely  contra- 
dicted by  the  facts  adduced  by  Mr.  Buckland  him- 
self, which  are  so  far  from  contradicting  the  received 
doctrine  of  the  church  of  God,  that,  like  every  other 
attempt  to  shake  the  foundations  of  the  Christian 
faith,  they  have  only  brought  out  into  clearer  view 
how  impregnable  they  are.  Those  facts  are,  that 
human  bones  and  whole  skeletons  have  been  found 
imbedded  in  solid  limestone,  and  that  human  re- 
mains have  been  found  mixed  with  the  remains  of 
unknown  animals  which  geologists  suppose  to  belong 
to  worlds  that  existed  millions  of  years  before  man 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  183 

had  any  being;  that  remains  of  existing  species  of 
animals  are  found  in  the  same  strata  and  in  the 
same  circumstances  with  many  belonging  to  the  ear- 
liest species  of  unknown  animals,  and  that  these  dis- 
covered species  of  unknown  animals  form  interme- 
diate and  connecting  links  between  existing  species 
in  our  present  world. 

The  obvious  inference  from  these  facts  is,  that  if 
human  bones  and  remains  of  unknown  animals  are 
found  in  the  same  stratum,  they  belong  to  the  same 
period,  but  man  and  existing  species  belong  to  the 
present  world  ;  therefore,  these  unknown  animals 
belong  to  this  present  world  also,  and  geology  is 
entirely  at  fault. 

Again,  the  unknown  animals  form  intermediate 
and  connecting  links  between  existing  species ; 
therefore  they  belong  to  the  same  system,  and  it 
is  contrary  to  all  analogy,  and  contradictory  to  all 
we  know  of  the  wisdom  of  the  Creator,  to  form 
several  middle  links  in  his  chain  of  connected  being, 
and  throw  them  away  before  he  formed  those  which 
preceded  and  followed  them.  The  unity  of  design 
and  connection  of  the  parts,  therefore,  indicate  that 
the  whole  work  was  contemporaneous  ;  but  man 
confessedly,  and  the  animals  of  existing  species, 
belong  properly  to  our  present  system,  therefore  so 
also  do  those  discovered  remains,  and  again  geology 
is  at  fault,  and  the  Bible  history  confirmed. 

Having  stated  the  argument,  I  produce  the 
facts,  and  out  of   their  own    mouths  let  presump- 


1 84  SERMONS. 


tuous  oppugners  of  the  Divine  testimony  be  con- 
demned. 

I.  Mr.  Buckland  says  (p.  87) :  "The  most  re- 
markable and  only  recorded  case  of  skeletons  im- 
bedded in  a  solid  limestone  rock,  is  that  on  the 
shore  of  Guadeloupe."  One  of  these  skeletons  is 
preserved  in  the  British  Museum.  According  to 
Gen.  Ernouf,  the  rock  in  which  the  human  bones 
occur  at  Guadeloupe  is  composed  of  consolidated 
sand,  and  contains  also  shells  of  the  species  now  in- 
habiting the  adjacent  sea  and  land,  together  with 
fragments  of  pottery,  arrows,  and  hatchets  of  stone. 
The  greater  number  of  bones  are  dispersed.  One 
entire  skeleton  was  extended  in  the  usual  position 
of  burial ;  another,  which  is  in  a  softer  sandstone, 
seemed  to  have  been  buried  in  the  sitting  position 
customary  among  the  Caribs.  The  bodies  thus  dif- 
ferently interred  may  have  belonged  to  two  differ- 
ent tribes.  Gen.  Ernouf  also  explains  the  occur- 
rence of  the  scattered  bones,  by  reference  to  a  tra- 
dition of  a  battle  and  massacre  on  this  spot,  of  a 
tribe  of  Gallibees,  by  the  Caribs,  about  the  year 
1710.  The  last  account  was  pu-blished  in  1818,  so 
that  all  that  formation  was  produced  in  one  hun- 
dred years.  What  may  not  have  taken  place  in 
more  than  fifty  times  the  period  of  time  since  our 
world  began  ? 

The  second  class  of  facts  is  thus  stated  (pp.  88, 
89) :  "  Several  accounts  have  been  published  within 
the  last  few  years,  of  human  remains  discovered  in 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  185 

the  caverns  of  France,  and  the  province  of  Liege, 
which  are  described  as  being  of  the  same  antiquity 
with  the  bones  of  hyenas  and  other  extinct  qtiadru- 
peds  that  accompany  them."  The  author  has  seen 
at  Liege  a  very  extensive  collection  of  fossil  bones 
made  by  M.  Schmerling  in  the  caverns  of  that  neigh- 
borhood, and  has  visited  some  of  the  places  where 
they  were  found.  Many  of  these  bones  appear  to 
have  been  brought  together,  like  those  in  the  cave 
of  Kirkdale,  by  the  agency  of  hyenas,  and  have  evi- 
dently been  gnawed  by  those  animals.  ''  Mr. 
Schmerling  expresses  his  opinion  that  these  bo7ies 
are  coeval  with  those  of  the  quadrupeds  of  extinct 
species  found  with  them."  Here,  then,  not  only 
are  the  facts  admitted  which  overturn  the  whole 
theory,  but  the  highest  geological  authorities  give 
their  opinion  that  these  extinct  animals  were  co- 
existent with  man  ;  and  even  Mr.  Buckland  admits 
that  the  bones  of  extinct  species  were  gnawed  by 
hyenas,  which  looks  very  like  an  admission  of  co- 
existence ;  if  not,  then  the  hyenas  existed  first ! 
But  hyenas  and  men  belong  to  this  present  world, 
therefore  so  do  these  extinct  animals. 

The  third  class  of  facts  is,  that  remains  have  been 
discovered  of  extinct  animals,  accompanied  by  those 
of  existing  species.  The  remains  of  sivatherium 
were  accompanied  by  those  of  the  elephant,  masto- 
don, rhinoceros,  hippopotamus,  several  ruminantia, 
etc.  (Pp.  75,  'jS)  :  "  Even  the  eggs  of  aquatic  birds 
have  been  preserved  in  the  lacustrian  formations  of 


l86  SERMONS. 


Cournon,  in  Auvergne.  In  the  same  eocene  forma- 
tion with  these  eggs  there  were  also  the  remains  of 
two  species  of  anoplotherium,  a  lophidodon,  an  an- 
thracotherium,  a  hippopotamus,  a  ruminating  ani- 
mal, a  dog,  a  marten,  a  lagomys,  a  rat,  a  cat,  one  or 
two  tortoises,  a  crocodile,  a  serpent  or  lizard,  and 
three  or  four  species  of  birds  "  (p.  74).  Now,  if  be- 
cause "the  most  ancient  marine  animals  occur  in 
the  same  division  of  the  lowest  transition  strata 
with  the  earliest  remains  of  vegetables,  the  evidence 
of  organic  remains,  so  far  as  it  goes,  shows  the  ori- 
gin of  plants  and  animals  to  have  been  contempo- 
raneous "  (p.  24),  then,  for  the  same  reason,  these 
extinct  species  of  animals  are  contemporaneous  -with 
the  dog,  the  marten,  the  rat,  and  the  lizard.  But 
these  belong  to  the  system  which  now  is,  therefore 
so  also  do  those  unknown  animals. 

The  fourth  class  of  facts  which  overthrow  the  geo- 
logical argument,  and  confirm  the  doctrine  of  the 
Bible,  is  as  follows  :  ''  It  is  stated  that  there  is  a 
wider  difference  between  the  living  genera  of  the 
order  pachydermata  than  between  those  of  any 
other  order  of  mammalia,  and  that  many  intervals 
in  the  series  of  these  animals  have  been  filled  up  by 
extinct  genera  and  species  discovered  in  strata  of  the 
tertiary  series.  The  sivatherium  forms  an  impor- 
tant addition  to  the  extinct  genera  of  this  interme- 
diate and  connecting  character  "  (p.  "jS).  *'  The  sec- 
ond, or  miocene  system  of  tertiary  deposits,  con- 
tains an  admixture  of  extinct  genera  of  limestone 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  187 

mammalia  of  the  first   or  eocene  series,  with   the 
earliest  forms  of  genera  which  exist  at   the  present 
time.     This  admixture  w^as  first  noticed  by  M.  Des- 
noyers   in   the   marine  formation    of   the   faluns  of 
Lorraine,  where   the   remains   of  paleotherium,  an- 
thracotherium,  and   lophidodon,  which   formed  the 
prevailing  genera  in   the   eocene,  are   found    mixed 
with  the  bones   of  the  tapir,  mastodon,  rhinoceros, 
horse,  ox,  bear,  fox  "  (p.  78).     "  The  study  of  these 
remains  presents  to  the  geologist  a  large  amount  of 
extinct  species  and  genera,  bearing  important  rela- 
tians  to  existing  forms   of  animals  and  vegetables, 
and  often  supplying  links  that  had  hitherto  appeared 
deficient  in  the  great  chain  whereby  all  animated 
beings   are  held  together   in   a  series   of  near  and 
gradual  connections  "  (pp.  94,  95).      The    unity  of 
design  which  these  discoveries  indicate   proves  that 
the  whole  chain  was  made  at  the  same  period,  as  it 
would  be   absurd  to  forge   intermediate   links  and 
then  throw  them  away  before  those  which  preceded 
and  followed  them  were  made.    On  that  supposition 
there  never  was,  and  never  can  be,  any  connected 
chain  of  being.     If  links  are  wanting  at  either  end, 
still  there  may  be  a  connected  chain  ;  but  if  they 
be  w^anting   in   the  middle   the  chain  is  broken,  its 
unity  is  gone.     But,  "  since  every  individual  in  such 
a  close  and   connected   series  is  thus  shown  to  be 
an  integral  part   of  one  grand  original    design,"  it 
is   clear   that    as     the    known    animals    belong   to 
our  present  system,    and   the   unknown  belong  to 


lS8  SERMONS. 


them,  they  also  belong  to  the  same  system  with 
man. 

Thus  we  have  seen  from  the  admixture  of  human 
bones,  and  those  of  existing  animals  in  the  same 
strata,  with  the  remains  of  animals  that  were  sup- 
posed to  belong  to  other  worlds,  and  from  the  fact 
that  these  unknown  animals  supply  links  that  we'-e 
wanting  in  existing  species,  it  is  proved  that  man 
and  all  the  other  animals,  known  and  unknown, 
belong  to  the  same  connected  chain  of  concreated 
being.  This  has  been  shown  to  be  the  opinion  of 
M.  Schmerling  and  other  geologists. 


IV. 


"  Through  faith  we  understand  that  the  worlds  were  framed 
by  the  word  of  God,  so  that  things  which  are  seen  were  not 
viade  of  things  whic?i  do  appear." — Heb.  xi.,  3. 

THIS  book  of  nature,  which  some  men  would 
make  out  to  be  so  much  plainer  than  revela- 
tion direct  from  the  true  God,  does  not  convey  the 
same  information  to  all  who  study  it.  The  opinion 
respecting  the  long  days  of  the  Mosaic  creation  has 
been  suggested,  *'  both  by  learned  theologians  and 
by  geologists,  and  on  grounds  independent  of  one 
another  "  (p.  22).  Now,  as  this  scheme  dispenses 
with  the  world  or  worlds  unnumbered  of  Mr.  Buck- 
land's  theory,  these  geologists  could  not  have  seen 
what  he  saw,  in  their  common  science.  They, 
therefore,  neutralize  each  other  and  prove  that  if 
we  give  up  the  sure  testimony  of  the  Divine  word, 
we  must  be  tossed  upon  the  shoreless  ocean  of 
skepticism,  without  chart  or  compass,  at  the  mercy 
of  every  wave. 

Dr.  Chalmers  has  been  triumphantly  referred  to 
as  a  witness  for  the  scheme  of  Mr.  Buckland.  But 
while  he  says  some  things  very  unwisely  on  the 
question  of  interpretation,  he  would  adopt  that 
interpretation   only  hypothetically,  on  the  supposi- 

189 


I90  SERMOI^S. 


tion  that  the  geological  discoveries  are  sufficient  to 
bear  their  conclusion.  In  the  same  place,  he  speaks 
on  the  question  of  its  truth  in  these  words  :  "  We 
may  deny  the  triith  of  the  geological  speculation.  Nor 
is  it  necessary  to  be  an  accomplished  geologist  that 
we  may  be  warranted  to  deny  it.  We  appeal  to 
the  speculations  of  the  geologists  themselves. 
They  neutralize  one  another,  and  leave  us  in  posses- 
sion of  free  ground  for  the  interpretion  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Our  imaginations  have  been  much 
regaled  by  the  brilliancy  of  their  speculations,  but 
they  are  so  opposite  to  each  other  that  we  now 
cease  to  be  impressed  by  their  evidence." — (Christ. 
Ev.,  Am.  ed.,  p.  107.)  Mr.  Buckland's  theory, 
then,  is  contradicted  by  geological  facts,  and  the 
opinions  of  geologists  by  his  witness  Dr.  Chalmers, 
and  his  friend  Dr.  Pusey,  who  says  that  ''  the  word 
asa,  to  make,  and  bara,  to  create,  are  synonymous  ; 
but  that  bar  a  is  the  stronger."  '*  Bar  a  and  asa  ex- 
press alike  a  formation  of  something  new  {de  novo\ 
something  whose  existence  in  this  new  state  origi- 
nated in,  and  depends  entirely  upon,  the  will  of  its 
Creator  or  Maker  "  (p.  28).  But  Mr.  Buckland  says, 
when  God  made  the  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars,  he 
did  not  form  anything  new  ;  he  only  showed  these 
luminaries  by  clearing  aiuay  the  fog  I  And  finally, 
he  caps  the  climax  of  absurdity  by  contradicting 
himself.  He  says:  ''Asa,  made,  may  be  here  em- 
ployed (Ex.  XX.,  1 1)  to  express  a  new  arrangement  of 
materials  that  existed    before"  (p.   35);    and  yet, 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  191 

when  the  sun  was  said  to  be  made  on  the  fourth 
day,  there  was  no  new  arrangement  of  the  materials 
that  existed  before  it  remained  unchanged. 

The  scheme,  then,  is  one  of  contradiction  and 
absurdity  throughout.  It  is  a  matter  of  lamenta- 
tion, though  not  of  wonder,  that  those  who  are  too 
wise  to  be  taught  by  the  oracles  of  God  should  be 
given  up,  in  righteous  judgment,  to  an  implicit 
faith  in  such  lying  oracles  as  these. 

To  show  that  I  am  not  alone  in  my  views  on  this 
subject,  I  give  a  few  extracts  from  writers  of  the 
highest  character.  Dr.  Chalmers,  on  whose  au- 
thority Mr.  Buckland  and  Prof.  Hitchcock  seem 
greatly  to  rely,  speaks  on  this  very  subject :  "  Of 
the  contest  between  the  cause  of  revelation  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  infidelity  of  the  geological  schools 
upon  the  other,"  and  says  "  that  the  historical  evi- 
dence of  Scripture  is  quite  untouched  by  those 
pretended  discoveries  of  natural  science."  (Hitch., 
pp.  232,  233.)  And  again:  "We  should  not 
tamper  with  the  record  by  allegorizing  any  of  its 
passages  or  phrases.  We  should  not,  for  example, 
protract  the  six  days  into  so  many  geological 
periods  ;  as  if,  by  means  of  a  lengthened  natural  pro- 
cess, to  veil  over  the  fiat  of  a  God,  the*phenomenon 
— if  we  may  so  term  it — which,  of  all  others,  seems 
most  offensive  to  the  taste  of  some  philosophers, 
and  which  they  are  most  anxious  to  get  rid  of. 
We  hold  the  week  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  to 
be  literally  a  week    of    miracles."      (Id.,    p.   331.) 


192  SERMONS. 


Nicholson's  Encyclopedia  refers  all  fossil  remains 
to  the  antediluvian  world,  and  the  changes  of 
our  globe  recorded  in  the  sacred  Scriptures :  "  By 
this  science  we  obtain  not  only  a  knowledge  of 
the  peculiar  beings  which  dwelt  on  this  planet, 
in  its  antediluvian  state,  but  we  also  acquire  a 
more  correct  knowledge  of  the  structure  of  this 
globe  itself.  We  at  the  same  time  discover  the 
strongest  proofs  of  those  changes  which  it  has 
suffered,  and  which  are  recorded  hi  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures, whilst  our  reverential  admiration  is  excited  at 
this  wonderful  display  of  the  power  and  providence 
of  the  Almighty  Creator." — Nich.  Encyc,  vol.  9, 
art.  Oryctology. 

The  last  I  shall  quote  at  this  time  is  Dr.  Dick, 
late  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  United  Secession 
Church,  of  Scotland,  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
theologians  and  scholars  of  the  age.  He  says  (vol. 
2.,  Edinburgh  edition,  pp.  218,  219) :  "  But  here  we 
are  encountered  by  the  pretended  discoveries  of 
modern  science,  and  the  observations  which  have 
been  made  upon  the  structure  of  the  earth  are  sup- 
posed to  contradict  the  Mosaic  account,  by  proving 
that  it  must  have  existed  at  a  more  distant  period, 
if  it  was  created  at  all,  and  that  it  must  have  under- 
gone many  revolutions  prior  to  what  we  call  the 
beginning.  Some  reject  the  account  of  Moses  en- 
tirely ;  and  others  conceive  that  it  tells  us,  not  of 
the  original  creation  of  the  earth,  but  of  the  changes 
which  took  place  upon  it  after  some  terrible  convul- 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE,  193 

sion.     Thus,  according  to  the  words  of  a  celebrated 

poet, 

'  Some  drill  and  bore 
The  solid  earth,  and  from  the  strata  then 
Extract  a  register,  from  which  we  learn 
That  He  who  made  it,  and  revealed  its  date 
To  Moses,  was  mistaken  in  its  age.' 

— Cowper's  '  Task,'  book  3. 

This  is  manifestly  a  subject  beyond  the  reach  of 
our  faculties;  and  geology,  as  sometimes  conducted, 
is  a  monument  of  human  presumption,  which  would 
be  truly  ridiculous,  were  it  not  offensive  by  its  im- 
piety. ''  Where  wast  thou,'  said  the  Almighty  to 
Job,  'when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth? 
Declare,  if  thou  hast  understanding.' — Job  xxxviii.,  4. 
Our  philosophers  do  not  pretend  to  have  been  pres- 
ent when  the  earth  was  founded,  but  they  profess 
to  show  us  how  it  was  made,  and  that  a  much  longer 
period  was  necessary  to  form  its  rocks  and  its  strata 
than  the  Scriptures  assign.  Thus  puny  mortals, 
wdth  a  spark  of  intellect,  and  a  moment  for  observa- 
tion, during  which  they  take  a  hasty  glance  of  a  few 
superficial  appearances,  deem  themselves  authorized 
to  give  the  lie  to  Him  who  made  and  fashioned 
them,  and  everything  which  they  see.  It  happens, 
however,  that  forsaking  the  only  safe  guide  in  such 
high  speculations,  and  following  the  faint  and  de- 
ceitful light  of  reason,  they  wander  in  the  mazes 
of  error  and  uncertainty.  Their  theories  are  differ- 
ent :  what  one  builds  up,  another  destroys ;  and 
amidst  the  conflicts  of  opinions,  all  equally   false, 


194  SERMONS. 


the  narrative  of  Moses  stands  unmoved,  like  the 
rock  amidst  the  waves,  resting  on  the  solid  basis 
of  all  the  proofs  by  which  the  genuineness  and  in- 
spiration of  his  writings  are  demonstrated.  *  From 
the  endless  discordance  in  the  opinions  of  philoso- 
phers on  this  point/  says  a  learned  professor,  '  from 
the  manifest  inadequacy  of  the  data  we  are  at  pre- 
sent in  possession  of  ;  and  from  the  physical  impos- 
sibilities which  must  forever  be  a  bar  to  anything 
more  than  a  superficial  knowledge  of  the  earth's 
structure,  it  is  preposterous  to  suppose  that  that 
high  degree  of  moral  evidence  on  which  the  credi- 
bility of  Scripture  rests  can,  with  any  justice,  be 
weakened  by  our  interpretation  of  phenomena,  the 
connection  of  which  among  themselves  even  we 
certainly  are  at  present,  and  probably  ever  shall  be, 
incapable  of  explaining.' 

"  The  vanity  of  the  reasoning  of  modern  geologists 
may  be  manifest,  and  the  bases  of  their  theories  over- 
turned, in  a  very  easy  way.  They  talk  of  primitive 
formations,  and  ascribe  the  origin  of  rocks  to  preci- 
pitation and  crystallization. 

"  Looking  at  a  piece  of  granite  from  the  mountains, 
they  point  out  the  characters  of  aqueous  or  igneous 
fusion,  and  say  that  it  was  formed  by  the  agency  of 
water  or  fire,  carried  on  through  a  long  process, 
which  it  required  ages  to  complete.  It  is  not  denied 
that  the  substance  might  have  been  produced  by 
the  laws  of  chemistry ;  but  is  it  certain  that  it  was 
so  produced  ?     These  laws  are  at  present  operating 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  195 


throughout  our  world  ;  but,  if  it  was  not  eternal, 
they  must  have  had  a  commencement.  Why  may 
we  not  suppose  that  their  Author  anticipated  their 
operation,  and  immediately  created  substances  of 
such  a  structure  or  composition,  as  would  have 
resulted  from  them  in  the  natural  order  ?  Why 
may  we  not  suppose  that  he  made  rocks  at  first 
such  as  they  would  have  been  made  by  precip- 
itation and  crystallization  ?  No  geologist  can 
deny  that  the  thing  was  possible,  unless  he  be  an 
atheist,  and  then  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  him 
or  his  theory;  and,  if  it  was  possible,  his  argument 
from  primitive  formations,  against  the  compara- 
tively modern  date  of  the  earth,  vanishes  into  smoke. 
We  say  that,  although  certain  substances  might 
have  been  produced  by  secondary  causes,  God 
could  and  did  produce  them  at  once.  That  there 
was  a  first  man,  will  be  denied  by  none  but  an 
atheist.  Now,  if  we  were  in  possession  of  one  of 
his  bones,  we  should  find  that  in  all  respects  it  re- 
sembled the  bones  of  his  posterity  ;  and  reasoning 
according  to  the  geologists,  should  conclude  that 
at  first  its  forms  were  soft,  that  they  gradually  be- 
came cartilage,  and  last  of  all  acquired  the  hardness 
of  their  perfect  state.  But  wc  should  reason  false, 
for  that  bone  was  made  solid  and  firm  in  a  moment. 
If  we  saw  one  of  the  first  trees,  we  should  perceive 
no  difference  between  it  and  a  tree  of  more  recent 
date.  On  being  cut  across,  it  would  exhibit  the 
same  folds  or   circles,  indicating  the  growth  of  sue- 


196  SERMONS. 


cessive  years,  and  increasing  in  hardness  as  they 
were  nearer  to  the  center.  The  theory  of  the  geol- 
ogists would  justify  us  in  maintaining  that  it  had 
originally  sprung  from  a  seed,  and  required  many 
years  to  bring  it  to  maturity  ;  while  the  fact 
would  be,  that  it  was  the  work  of  an  instant.  In 
both  cases  we  have  all  the  apparent  effects  of  the 
processes  of  ossification  and  lignification,  while  it  is 
certain  that  the  processes  never  took  place.  We 
have,  therefore,  demionstration  of  the  authority  of  a 
a  rule  that  has  been  laid  down,  and  effectually  des- 
troys all  the  geological  systems  which  represent 
second  causes  as  being  immediately  concerned  in  the 
formation  of  our  earth,  in  this,  that  sensible  pheno- 
mena can  not  alone  determine  the  mode  of  forma- 
tion. We  have  no  occasion  to  convert  each  of  Moses' 
days  into  thousands  of  years,  and  to  conceive  the 
chaos  as  an  immense  laboratory,  from  which,  after 
the  operations  of  ages,  the  earth  came  forth  as  we 
now  see  it.  There  was  a  Power  adequate  to  create 
it  at  once,  which  formed  the  primeval  rocks  without 
the  aid  of  fire  and  water,  as  it  made  perfect  bones 
and  perfect  trees,  independently  of  the  second 
causes  by  which  they  are  at  produced." 

I  have  endeavored,  in  humble  dependence  on  the 
aid  of  the  Creator  of  the  worlds,  the  God  of  the 
Bible,  to  show  that  the  present  is  a  question  of  faith 
in  the  history,  laws,  and  doctrines  of  the  Divine  word, 
that  the  received  doctrine  of  the  church  is  required 
by  the  uniform  meaning  of  the  passages  which  relate 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  197 

to  this  subject,  and  that  the  meaning  attempted  to 
be  forced  upon  them  by  the  theories  of  geologists 
renders  them  unutterably  absurd,  and  unworthy  of 
Moses  or  any  other  man  of  understanding — to  say 
nothing  of  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  ;  that  the  reasons 
given  for  the  new  interpretation  are  futile,  and  that 
there  is  irreconcilable  contradiction  between  these 
theories  and  the  Bible.  I  have  examined  the  ques- 
tion as  an  argument  against  the  Bible,  which  it  is  the 
main  design  of  the  authors  of  these  theories  to  dis- 
prove, and  shown  that  their  arguments  are  baseless 
and  their  theories  contradicted  by  their  own  facts, 
by  one  another,  by  their  own  authorities,  and  by 
themselves,  and  that  the  wisest  men  in  the  different 
departments  of  science,  literature,  and  theology  have 
denounced  these  theories  as  unfounded,  presump- 
tuous, and  impious. 

Christians,  guard  with  sleepless  vigilance  and  jeal- 
ous care  the  sacred  trust  committed  to  your  care  in 
the  holy  Scriptures.  *'  Whereto  we  have  already 
attained,  let  us  walk  by  the  same  rule,  let  us  mind 
the  same  things."  Frown  upon  all  attempts  to 
tamper  with  the  oracles  of  God,  to  force  them  to 
speak  a  language  abhorrent  to  their  obvious  and 
necessary  meaning.  "  Have  no  fellowship  with  the 
unfruitful  works  of  darkness,  but  rather  reprove 
them."  Arrayed  in  the  panoply  of  God,  stand  fast 
in  the  evil  day,  and  drive  back  to  their  dens  the 
demons  of  infidelity  and  heresy,  under  whatever 
specious  forms  they  may  appear.     The  louder  the 


jgS  SERMONS. 


tempest  howls  about  your  heads,  cling  the  closer  to 
the  rock  of  your  salvation,  the  sure  testimony  of 
Him  who  can  not  be  deceived  and  who  will  not  lie. 
Pray  to  the  "  Author  and  Finisher  of  your  faith  that 
you  may  be  strong  in  the  faith,  giving  glory  to  God.'* 
**  Finally,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  God  and  to 
the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you  up 
and  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all  them 
which  are  sanctified."  Live  by  faith,  walk  by  faith, 
so  shall  you  triumph  by  faith  ;  and  when  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  flee  away,  and  no  place  is  found  for 
them,  you  will  find  your  places  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  everlasting  throne,  in  His  **  presence,  where  is 
fulness  of  joy,  and  at  his  right  hand,  where  are 
pleasures  for  evermore." 

Readei';  learn  from  this  subject  how  impregnable 
are  the  bulwarks  of  the  Christian  faith.  It  has  been 
assailed  in  every  age,  in  every  form  which  the  sub- 
tlety of  Satan  and  wicked  men  can  devise ;  and  it 
has  survived  every  attack,  with  not  merely  undi- 
minished, but  increased,  manifestation  of  its  truth. 
A  system  of  religious  truth  so  established,  and  hav- 
ing passed  unhurt  through  so  many  fiery  ordeals, 
evinces  the  full  and  unwavering  confidence  of  all  to 
whom  the  knowledg^e  of  it  comes.  If  it  had  been 
possible  to  disprove  the  truth  of  the  Bible,  it  must 
have  been  disproved  long  before  now ;  for,  from  its 
very  origin,  it  has  had  to  wage  unceasing  warfare 
with  talent,  and  learning,  and  wealth,  and  power,  and 
all  the  utter  unbelief  and  enmity  of  fallen  man,  and 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  199 

the  artifice  and  malignity  of  Satan,  the  god  of  this 
world,  "  who  blinds  the  minds  of  them  that  believe 
not,  lest  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ  should  shine  into 
them."  Embark,  then,  your  eternal  interest  upon 
that  truth.  There  is  nothing  on  earth  more  sure. 
Nothing  but  faith  in  these  precious  records,  and 
humble  reliance  on  that  Divine  and  compassionate 
Saviour  whom  they  reveal,  can  give  true  peace  to 
your  spirit  here,  or  assure  you  of  a  blissful  immor- 
tality when  time  shall  be  no  more. 


THE  CHERUBIM. 

"  So  he  drove  out  the  man  :  and  he  placed  at  the  east  of  the 
garden  of  Eden  Cherubim,  and  a  flaming  sword  which  turned 
every  way,  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  hfe." — Genesis  iii.,  24. 

THE  day  that  man  was  banished  from  the  home 
of  his  innocency  was  full  of  unutterable  sorrow. 
He  had  thrown  away  the  favor  of  his  God,  and  the 
happiness  of  himself  and  his  race.  He  had  begun 
to  taste  the  bitterness  of  that  cup  which  the  tempter 
had  put  to  his  lips.  The  holiness,  justice,  and  truth 
of  God,  in  awful  majesty,  were  asserting  their  claims 
upon  him.  But  although  distressed,  he  is  not  in 
despair,  for  mercy  also  is  prominent  in  the  manifes- 
tation of  the  Divine  character,  and  another  and  a 
brighter  light  bursts  upon  the  moral  chaos  into 
which  sin  had  thrown  the  fairest  creation  of  God. 
In  the  same  breath  which  announced  to  the  com- 
bined offenders  their  appropriate  punishments,  is 
revealed  the  surety  of  the  new  Covenant,  and  salva- 
tion in  him :  "  He  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou 
shalt  bruise  his  heel."  This  was  the  dawning  of 
gospel  light,  the  great  first  promise,  the  germ  of 
boundless  grace  and  endless  glory  to  a  multitude 
that  no  man  can  number.  In  beautiful  analogy 
with   that    revelation    is   the   symbol   by  which   is 

200 


THE   CHERUBIM. 


exhibited  the  hopelessness  of  man's  condition  by 
the  first  covenant,  and  his  restoration  to  the  favor 
and  fellowship  of  his  reconciled  God  by  the  sec- 
ond— the  flaming  sword,  which  turned  everyway  to 
keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life,  presenting,  in  most 
impressive  form,  the  impossibility  of  attaining  to 
the  life  promised  in  the  first  covenant,  of  which  the 
tree  of  life  was  the  seal,  and  the  cherubim  opening 
a  door  of  hope,  through  the  second,  by  exhibiting 
redeemed  man  in  the  attitude  of  an  accepted  wor- 
shiper, the  ambassador  of  God  to  man,  and  the 
leader  and  representative  of  his  people  to  God. 
Thus  are  embodied  in  striking  emblem  the  dis- 
abilities and  doom  of  the  covenant  of  works,  and  the 
privileges  and  duties  of  the  covenant  of  grace. 

First.  There  is  no  salvation  now  by  the  first  cove- 
nant. 

Second.  The  cherubim  embody  the  scheme  of 
salvation  through  the  surety  of  the  New  Covenant 
as  administered  by  the  officers  of  his  church, 

I.  That  the  tree  of  life  was  a  seal  of  the  cove- 
nant of  works  made  with  Adam,  the  representative 
of  our  race,  is  evident  from  its  mention  in  connec- 
tion with  that  covenant,  its  name,  the  expectations 
of  fallen  man  respecting  it,  and  this  prohibition  of 
its  use,  now  that  the  constitution  to  which  it  be- 
longed is  made  void  or  broken,  and  its  threatened 
penalty  incurred.  When  by  the  entrance  of  sin, 
salvation  became  impossible  by  the  work  of  the 
law,  it  became  the   Divine   faithfulness  and  mercy 


202  SERMONS. 


to  forbid  all  fruitless  and  ruinous  attempts  to  obtain 
it  in  that  way.  And  the  strong  propensity  of  man, 
ever  since,  to  seek  to  be  justified  by  the  works  of 
the  law,  has  abundantly  shown  that  the  prohibition 
was  not  without  cause.  It  was  a  part  of  his  moral 
constitution,  as  he  came  out  of  the  hands  of  his  Crea- 
tor ;  and  although  now  in  ruins,  it  knows  no  other 
way,  and  is  incapable  of  knowing  it,  until  made  new 
by  the  power  of  Almighty  grace.  For  as  it  is  an  im- 
portant truth,  "  by  the  deeds  of  the  law,  there  shall 
no  flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight,"  that  other  is  like 
unto  it,  "  Ye  must  be  born  again." 

The  great  Physician  probes,  that  he  may  effect  a 
thorough  cure.  He  shows  our  wounds,  that  he  may 
heal  us.  He  makes  us  know  our  ruin,  that  we  may 
greet  with  cordial  welcome  the  remedy  which,  in 
his  wisdom  and  mercy,  he  has  provided  in  the  Son 
of  his  love. 

2.  The  principal  subject  to  which  attention  is 
invited  is  the  cherubim,  the  symbol  of  redeemed 
man  in  fellowship  with  his  reconciled  God,  giving 
him  the  glory  due  unto  his  name,  enjoying  his 
favor  and  doing  his  will.  The  cherubim  and  sera- 
phim are  but  different  names  for  the  same  com- 
pound animal  figures  described  by  Isaiah,  Ezekiel 
and  John.  It  is  the  hieroglyphic  for  the  ministry 
of  reconciliation,  under  every  dispensation  of  the 
covenant  of  grace,  and  therefore  of  that  covenant 
itself,  in  its  privileges  and  fruits,  in  the  glorious 
communion   of   God   with  redeemed,   regenerated. 


THE   CHERUBIM.  203 

saved  man,  to  bless  him  with  his  love  here,  and  fit 
him  for  his  glory  hereafter.  The  figure  itself  ex- 
presses the  ministry  ;  its  office,  fellowship  with  God. 

Who  then  are  the  cherubim  ?  What  their  char- 
acter, and  what  their  office  ? 

First.  That  the  cherubim  means  the  ministry  of 
reconciliation  appears  from  the  context,  and  the 
uniform  usage  of  sacred  writ."^ 

From  the  connection  of  the  text.  It  was  evidently 
the  Divine  intention  to  call  Adam  to  the  duties  of 
faith  and  hope,  in  the  uttering  of  the  first  promise, 
that,  while  the  pronouncing  of  the  righteous  sentence, 
which  he  had  incurred  by  his  sin,  should  cut  off  all 
hopes  from  anything  in  himself,  this  new  promise 
might  lead  to  trust  in  the  righteousness  of  God. 
So,  when  the  holy  providence  of  God  begins  to  ac- 
complish his  purposes,  and  man  is  expelled  the 
happy  abode  of  innocency,  and  his  return  forever 
debarred,  it  was  fit  that  his  sinking  spirit  should  be 
sustained  and  comforted  by  a  sign  of  the  Divine 
forgiveness  and  salvation,  in  the  way  of  his  own 
devising.  Such  sign  was  given  him  in  the  cheru- 
bim. Besides,  if  the  sword  were  only  the  instru- 
ment which  the  cherubim  used,  it  would  have  read 
with  instead  of  and.     As  it  is,  the  signs  are  different 

*  Kerub,  for  Karob,  is  one  near  to  God,  his  minister,  one  ad- 
mitted to  his  presence.  5<?r^z////w— princes,  nobles  of  the  pres- 
ence, admitted  near  to  the  great  King — denote  first  the  minis- 
try, and  then  the  whole  church,  made  kings  and  priests  unto 
God,  chosen,  and  caused  to  approach  unto  him. 


204  SERMONS. 


and  distinct.  And  so  are  the  things  signified. 
Moreover,  were  the  sword  wielded  by  the  cherubim, 
it  would  express  a  part  of  the  duty  of  the  ministry 
to  drive  men  by  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is 
the  word  of  God,  from  the  ruinous  attempt  to  ob- 
tain salvation  by  the  deeds  of  the  law.  The  dim 
outline  of  revelation  given  us  in  the  first  part  of  the 
book  of  God  is  afterwards  more  clearly  defined  and 
more  distinctly  filled  up.  The  next  place  in  which 
the  cherubim  are  introduced  is  in  the  description 
of  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  Exodus  xxv.,  i8,  etc. 
These,  in  the  tabernacle  and  afterwards  in  the 
temple,  i  Kings  vi.,  23,  etc.,  were  made  by  Divine 
appointment,  and  from  the  places  which  they  occu- 
pied, the  attitudes  they  were  made  to  assume,  and 
the  presence  of  Jehovah  in  the  cloud  of  glory  in 
the  midst  of  them,  do  represent  in  an  impressive 
manner  the  communion  which  the  God  of  Israel 
condescends  to  hold  with  his  ministering  servants 
and  his  worshiping  people.  To  this  there  is 
allusion  in  the  80th  and  99th  Psalms,  "  Thou  that 
dwellest  between  the  cherubim,  shine  forth  ";  and 
"  He  sitteth  between  the  cherubim  ;  let  the  earth  be 
moved." 

As  the  vehicle  of  the  declarative  glory  of  God,  it 
is  introduced,  2  Samuel  xxii.,  ,11  :  *'  He  rode  upon  a 
cherub."  And  is  not  the  church,  and,  by  eminence, 
the  ministry,  to  the  moral,  what  the  sun  is  to  the 
natural  world,  the  instrument,  the  vehicle  of  con- 
veying the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  to  the 


rilE    CHERUBIM.  205 

ends  of  the  earth  ?  "  Ye  are  the  h'ght  of  the 
world." 

The  seraphim  of  Isaiah  (6th  chapter)  is  evidently 
but  another  name  for  the  same  representation  which 
we  afterwards  have  with  particularity  given  us  in 
Ezekiel,  ist  and  loth  chapters.  It  is  a  compound 
animal  figure,  made  up  of  the  faces  of  the  lion,  the 
ox,  the  man,  and  the  eagle,  the  body  of  the  man, 
and  the  foot  of  the  ox  or  bullock,  covered  with 
wings  and  full  of  eyes  within  and  without.  The 
words  were  used  without  explanation  before,  because 
the  Israelites  who  came  from  Egypt  were  familiar 
with  hieroglyphics,  and  to  them  and  some  of  the 
succeeding  generations  the  terms  would  be  per- 
fectly intelligible.  In  later  times  it  seemed  good 
to  the  Holy  Spirit  to  explain  in  moral  painting 
the  terms,  and  their  signification.  The  occasion  of 
Isaiah's  vision  is  his  call  to  the  work  of  the  minis- 
try, verse  9 :  ''Go  and  tell  this  people,  Hear  ye 
indeed,  but  understand  not,"  etc.  The  vision  of 
Ezekiel  is  on  a  similar  occasion,  and  both  are  evi- 
dently intended  to  illustrate,  in  the  peculiar  style  of 
prophecy,  the  office  and  duty  of  the  prophets  them- 
selves. 

Ezekiel  compares  the  king  of  Tyre  to  the  cherub, 
because  glittering  with  gold  and  glory. — xxviii.,  14. 
On  this,  as  on  every  other  subject  of  Divine  revela- 
tion, the  light  increases,  from  its  earliest  dawn  to  its 
meridian  brightness.  John,  the  beloved  disciple, 
whose  revelation  completes  the  only  infallible  rule 


206  SERMONS. 


of  faith  and  practice,  was  favored  with  sublime  and 
beautiful  visions  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  the  4th 
and  9th  chapters,  he  describes  the  various  orders  of 
the  creatures,  in  full  chorus,  celebrating  the  high 
praises  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  In  alternate 
parts,  they  sing  the  heavenly  song,  but  the  leading 
and  most  peculiar  strain  belongs  to  the  church  of 
the  redeemed,  who  strike  their  harps  to  a  theme 
emphatically  their  own  ;  while  nearest  the  throne 
and  first  in  song  appear  the  cherubim,  the  same 
that  Ezekiel  saw,  the  emblematic  representation  of 
the  Christian  ministry.  Next,  in  concentric  circles, 
the  elders,  the  representatives  of  the  churches  ;  and 
next,  the  ministering  angels.  The  anthem  begins 
with  those  whose  office  brings  them  nearest  the 
throne,  and  is  caught  up  by  the  church  of  the 
redeemed.  The  angels  of  light  utter  their  glad 
response,  and  onward  through  all  the  ranks  of 
creation  and  to  the  utmost  verge  of  the  universe 
rolls  the  enrapturing  sound. 

Who  are  those  that  act  the  leading  part  in  that 
splendid  theater,  whose  place  is  nearest  to  the  King 
Eternal  ?  Whatever  darkness  may  have  rested  upon 
the  subject  before,  there  can  be  none  now.  They 
can  not  be  the  Trinity  ;  for  the  Trinity  is  the  wor- 
shiped, not  the  worshiper.  They  can  not  be  the 
angels  ;  for  the  angels  form  a  distinct  class,  occupy  a 
different  place,  and  sing  another  song.  They  are  a 
part  of  the  redeemed  from  among  men,  who  lead  in 
the  worship  of  the  church,  which  the   Lord  Jesus 


THE   CHERUBIM.  207 


has  purchased  with  his  own  blood,  and  in  proclaim- 
ing the  praises  of  the  Triune  God.  And  to  none 
other  can  all  these  things  belong,  but  to  the  ministry 
of  reconciliation.  The  ascertained  meaning  of  a  form 
of  speech  is  not  to  be  departed  from  without  neces- 
sity; much  less  when  such  meaning  gives  consist- 
ency, beauty,  and  force  to  all  the  passages  in  which 
the  form  of  expression  occurs. 

The  view  of  the  cherubim  which  has  been  given 
is  in  keeping  with  the  usual  manner  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  Scriptures.  The  revelation  made  to 
man  gives  but  few  and  passing  notices  respecting  the 
angels,  and  is  occupied  mainly  in  describing  the 
relations,  duties,  and  privileges  of  man;  while  it 
strictly  forbids  any  images  of  God.  The  cherubim 
therefore  can  not  mean  the  Trinity,  for  that  were  to 
do,  in  the  temple  of  Jehovah  and  by  his  own  com- 
mandment, what  he  has  strictly  forbidden,  on  pain 
of  his  utmost  displeasure.  It  can  not  mean  the 
angels,  for  it  is  more  important  for  man  to  be 
taught  his  own  duty,  than  the  duty  of  angels :  be- 
sides, to  make  representations  of  angels  in  the  Holy 
of  Holies  would  have  encouraged  the  worshiping 
of  angels,  to  which  men  have  ever  been  too  prone. 
Moreover,  the  cherubim  which  sustained  the  brazen 
sea,  and  the  lavers  of  Solomon,  do  aptly  represent 
the  labors  of  the  ministry  in  promoting  the  sancti- 
fication  of  men,  a  work  which  belongs  not  to  the 
angels. 

Thus  have  we  seen,  from  the  first  in  Eden  to  the 


2o8  SERMONS. 


last  in  Patmos,  that  the  cherubim  of  Moses  and 
Ezekiel  describe  the  same  appearance  with  the 
seraphim  of  Isaiah  and  the  living  creatures  of  John, 
and  that  their  meaning  is  one,  the  MINISTERS  OF  RE- 
LIGION, for  themselves  and  others  in  communion 
with  God  their  Saviour.  This  view  will  be  still 
further  confirmed  while  we  consider  in  the  second 
place : 

What  is  the  character  of  these  men  of  God,  as 
described  in  the  heavenly  vision?  This  sublime 
and  highly  figurative  description  comprehends  their 
relations  and  qualifications  for  their  work. 

I.  They  are  relatively  and  by  way  of  eminence 
holy  unto  the  Lord,  consecrated  by  the  Divine  ap- 
pointment to  draw  especially  near  to  him.  Bearing 
a  delegated  authority  from  the  great  Mediator  of 
the  new  covenant,  they  occupy  the  middle  place 
between  God  and  man,  representatives  and  leaders 
of  men  to  God  in  acts  of  worship,  and  ambassadors 
of  God  to  men  in  announcing  his  will.  Thus  the 
cherubim  were  nearest  the  throne  and  led  the  praise 
of  all  the  saved.  The  priests  were  appointed  to  offer 
the  sacrifices  of  the  people.  The  priest's  lips  should 
keep  knowledge,  and  they  should  learn  the  law 
at  his  mouth.  Thus  "  Moses  and  Aaron  amongst 
his  priests,  Samuel  with  them  that  call  upon  his 
name ;  they  called  on  God  and  he  answered  them  ": 
*'  Son  of  man,  I  have  set  thee  a  watchman  unto  the 
house  of  Israel ;  therefore  thou  shalt  hear  the 
word   at   my   mouth,   and   warn   them   from  me.** 


THE   CHERUBIM.  209 

They  were  also  commissioned  to  bless  the  people : 
*'  Speak  unto  Aaron  and  unto  his  sons,  saying,  On 
this  wise  ye  shall  bless  the  children  of  Israel,  saying 
unto  them,  The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  keep  thee: 
The  Lord  make  his  face  to  shine  upon  thee,  and 
Ipe  gracious  unto  thee :  the  Lord  lift  up  his  coun- 
tenance upon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace." — Num.  vi. 
23-26.  And  under  the  New  Testament  economy, 
Peter  says :  "■  We  will  give  ourselves  to  prayer  and 
to  the  ministry  of  the  word."  And  Paul :  '*  Now 
then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God 
did  beseech  you  by  us,  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead 
be  ye  reconciled  to  God."  To  discharge  a  duty  so 
important,  to  bear  upon  him  the  interests  of  the 
people,  as  the  High  Priest  bore  upon  his  breast- 
plate the  names  of  the  tribes  when  he  went  into  the 
Holy  of  Holies  to  present  their  offerings,  and  to 
speak  for  God  to  men  on  the  great  concerns  of 
their  eternal  state,  require  such  qualifications  and 
endowments,  that  even  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles 
exclaims,  "Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?" 

2.  What  then  are  the  characteristics  of  those 
who  draw  near  to  God  ?  In  the  revelation  of  John 
is  a  description  of  those  emblematic  animals  cor- 
responding with  that  of  Ezekiel  and  called  by  him 
the  cherubim,  and  by  both,  living  creatures,  every 
part  of  which  describes  something  essential  to  the 
character  of  the  workman,  that  needeth  not  to 
be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth : 
"  And  in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  and  round  about 


2IO  SEI^MOXS. 


the  throne  vvere  four  beasts  (living  creatures)  full 
of  eyes  before  and  behind.  And  the  first  beast 
(living  creature)  was  like  a  lion,  and  the  second 
beast  like  a  calf,  (a  young  bullock)  and  the  third 
beast  had  a  face  as  a  man,  and  the  fourth  beast 
was  like  a  flying  eagle.  And  the  four  beasts  had 
each  of  them  six  wings  about  him,  and  they 
were  full  of  eyes  within:  and  they  rest  not  day 
and  night,  saying.  Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God 
Almighty,  which  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come." — 
Rev.  iv.,  6,  7,  8.  The  earliest  form  of  written  lan- 
guage was  probably  that  of  hieroglyphics,  in  which, 
by  a  representation  of  sensible  objects,  were  con- 
veyed analogous  ideas  of  moral  and  spiritual  and 
immaterial  things.  The  Egyptian  inscriptions  on 
their  temples  and  monuments  are  partly  of  this 
character,  and  partly  of  the  next  step  in  the  pro- 
gress of  written  language,  the  signs  of  sounds.  On 
this  principle  the  Chinese  language  is  supposed  to 
be  constructed.  The  next  step  was  to  the  arbitrary 
signs  of  elemental  sounds,  which  form  the  alphabet 
in  most  written  languages.  The  visions  of  the 
prophets  seem  to  be  of  the  character  of  the  first 
form ;  the  analogy  between  the  sign  and  the  signi- 
fied is  therefore  obvious.  From  Moses  to  John 
they  have  recorded,  with  more  than  historical  accu- 
racy, the  writing  which  the  spirit  of  inspiration  had 
inscribed  upon  the  tablet  of  their  minds.  Some- 
times they  add  a  note  of  explanation,  but  generally 
leave  the  future  to  explain  itself.     In  explaining  a 


THE   CHERUBIM. 


complete  subject,  various  figures  are  used  to  express 
its  various  aspects,  on  the  same  principle  that  the 
whole  ceremonial  code  was  a  pictorial  representa- 
tion of  the  way  of  salvation  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  The  principle  is  retained  in  the  ordi- 
nances of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  under  the 
present  dispensation. 

(i)  These  living  creatures  are  full  of  eyes,  before 
and  behind.  This  indicates  the  great  vigilance 
which  ministers  ought  to  exercise  as  watchmen 
upon  the  walls  of  Zion.  The  popular  opinion  is 
that  ministers  should  have  no  eyes.  To  see  and 
give  warning  of  the  coming  enemy  in  the  shape  of 
errors  which  artful  men  privily  bring  in,  is  branded 
with  the  reproachful  names  of  bigotry  and  heresy- 
hunting.  But  the  mawkish  delicacy  which  will  not 
endure  that  the  ways  of  those  who  corrupt  the 
truth  of  God  should  be  exposed,  is  itself  one  of 
the  worst  forms  of  evil ;  a  practical  heresy,  which 
shields  every  other,  until  it  is  prepared  openly  to 
trample  the  truth  in  the  dust.  The  watchman  en- 
trusted with  the  safety  of  the  city,  who  should 
see  the  enemy  coming  and  neglect  to  give  warning, 
would  be  guilty  of  their  ruin  ;  and  it  would  avail 
him  nothing  to  aver  that  he  did  not  like  to  dis- 
turb their  repose.  In  relation  to  every  one  who 
is  lost  under  such  circumstances,  the  decision  of 
Jehovah  is  already  given.  '*  His  blood  will  I  re- 
quire at  the  watchman's  hand."  This  vigilance  is 
one  of    the    most  important  qualifications  of    the 


212  SERMONS. 


Christian  ministry,  and  perhaps  never  more  neces- 
sary than  at  present,  when  so  many  with  fair  words 
and  fine  speeches  are  deceiving  the  hearts  of  the 
simple.  But  this  watchfulness  is  not  only  exer- 
cised in  every  direction  from  which  danger  may 
come  externally,  but  they  are  full  of  eyes  within. 
He  that  is  not  duly  concerned  about  his  own  eternal 
interests  will  not  be  concerned  aright  about  those 
of  others.  He  that  knows  not  the  grace  of  God 
in  truth  in  his  own  heart  cannot  be  properly  con- 
cerned for  the  salvation  of  others.  And  his  fidel- 
ity can  not  be  depended  on  in  a  day  of  trial. 
Take  heed  to  thyself  and  to  thy  doctrine,  for  in  so 
doing  thou  shalt  both  save  thyself  and  them  that 
hear  thee.  If  it  is  the  duty  of  all  Christians  to 
watch  and  pray,  lest  they  enter  into  temptation,  it 
is  eminently  the  duty  of  Christian  ministers,  who 
are  accountable  not  only  for  their  own  souls,  but 
also  ,for  the  souls  of  others.  How  fearful  the 
guilt,  how  awful  the  approaching  doom  of  those 
dumb  dogs,  sleeping,  lying  down,  loving  to  slumber 
while  the  wolves  are  coming  in  and  devouring  the 
flock.  Indeed  the  most  conscientious,  and  prudent, 
and  watchful  ministers  will  have  reason,  when  they 
see  the  dangers  which  beset  their  souls,  and  the 
souls  of  those  committed  to  their  charge,  to  ex- 
claim with  the  Apostle,  "Who  is  sufficient  for 
these  things^  " 

(2)  Boldness   and    courage,  of   which  the  lion  is 
an  obvious  emblem :    "  The  first  beast  was  like  a 


THE   CHERUBIM.  213 

lion."  This  is  a  very  necessary  qualification  of 
those  who  are  to  lead  the  sacramental  host  of  God's 
elect  against  the  powers  of  darkness.  Add  to  your 
faith  virtue,  or  courage,  as  the  word  means  in 
classic  and  scriptural  use.  To  resist  the  various 
influences  which  are  brought  to  bear  by  the  world, 
the  flesh,  and  the  devil  against  the  cause  of  pure 
and  undefiled  religion,  requires  in  the  Christian 
minister  an  eminent  degree  of  moral  courage.  An 
easy  complaisance,  which  yields  to  every  influence 
that  claims  to  direct  him,  will  lead  himself  and  his 
people  into  many  a  snare,  from  which  they  may 
never  escape.  But  to  set  himself  firmly  and  de- 
cidedly against  every  departure  from  duty,  however 
alluring  the  temptation  may  be  to  indulge  it, — 
against  every  defection  from  the  truth  of  the  Gos- 
pel, under  whatever  plausible  pretenses  it  may  be 
inculcated, — against  enemies  in  his  own  breast,  in 
the  church,  and  in  the  world,  whatever  pains  or 
hazard  may  be  incurred,  and  against  all  the  devices 
of  Satan,  whether  secret  suggestions  or  open  rage 
and  persecution,  requires  a  lion-like  boldness  which 
can  only  be  derived  from  the  spirit  of  power  and  of 
might  which,  teaching  us  to  fear  God  supremely, 
delivers  from  the  dominion  of  every  other  fear. 
This  attribute  of  ministerial  character  is  also  called 
for  at  this  time.  Although  we  are  not  required  to 
attest  our  courage  in  the  flames  of  martyrdom,  as 
in  former  times  it  was  required  of  those  who  fol- 
lowed Christ,  and  as  may  occur  again,  yet  a  strict 


214  SERMONS. 


and  conscientious  adherence  to  the  law  and  to  the 
testimony,  in  doctrine,  duty,  worship,  discipline  and 
government,  will  subject  to  many  dangers  and 
difficulties  from  the  secret  foes  and  timid  friends  of 
truth  and  holiness,  and  from  that  spurious  liberality 
which,  confounding  all  distinction  between  truth 
and  error,  and  throwing  its  shield  over  all,- treats  as 
enemies  to  religion  all  whose  zeal  for  the  Lord  of 
Hosts  impels  them  to  pursue  the  enemies  of  their 
God  to  their  retreat,  behind  its  formidable  aegis. 

(3)  The  next  attribute  of  ministerial  character 
is  shadowed  forth  in  the  second  living  creature,  like 
a  calf  or  bullock.  This  is  the  symbol  of  patient, 
persevering  laborioiisness,  a  very  essential  character- 
istic of  a  good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  Whatever 
may  be  the  gifts  of  the  pastor  of  a  Christian  church, 
and  whatever  his  piety,  it  is  clearly  impossible  that 
he  should  discharge  his  various  and  arduous  duties, 
reproving,  rebuking,  exhorting  with  all  long-suffer- 
ing and  doctrine,  preaching  publicly,  and  from 
house  to  house,  instructing  the  ignorant,  confirming 
the  wavering,  and  convincing  the  gainsayers,  giving 
to  every  one  his  portion  in  the  due  season,  rightly 
dividing  the  word  of  truth,  increasing  his  own 
acquaintance  with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that  he  may 
bring  out  his  treasures,  things  new  and  old,  provid- 
ing not  only  that  himself  and  his  congregation  may 
grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  but  also  that  the  Gospel  may 
be  presented,  in  the  supremacy  of  its  authority  and 


THE    CI/ERUBIM.  215 


in  the  amplitude  of  its  provisions  for  the  supply  of 
every  human  want,  to  them  that  are  without,  caring 
and  laboring  for  the  welfare  of  all  the  churches  and 
seeking  by  every  proper  means  to  be  a  worker 
together  with  God  in  promoting  that  kingdom 
which  is  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  to  the 
end  of  time — it  is  clearly  impossible  that  he  should 
meet  all  these  incessant  drafts  upon  him  without 
the  most  diligent  and  painstaking  labor.  An  indo- 
lent minister  is  an  unfaithful  minister.  Eternal 
interests  are  suffering  by  his  neglect,  and  the  doom 
of  the  slothful  and  wicked  servant  will  be  his. 

(4)  Wisdom  and  prudence  are  indicated  by 
the  third  living  creature,  which  had  a  face  as  a 
man.  This  is  an  emblem  of  the  important  attribute 
of  wisdom,  to  know  how  the  minister  ought  to  con- 
duct himself  in  the  house  of  God.  The  Lord  has 
given  man  more  understanding  than  the  beasts  of 
the  field,  and  made  him  wiser  than  the  fowls  of 
the  heavens.  The  face  of  the  man  indicates  the 
superior  intelligence  and  wisdom  with  which  it 
becomes  him  to  be  endowed,  into  whose  hands  are 
committed  the  most  important  interests  and  the 
most  difficult  affairs.  Boldness,  strength,  and  labor, 
unless  wisely  directed,  will  do  evil  and  not  good. 
The  basis  of  this  qualification  must  be  the  gift  of 
the  Author  of  our  nature,  in  the  original  constitu- 
tion of  the  mind.  The  want  of  a  well-balanced 
mind  is  incurable,  and  unfits  its  subject  entirely  for 


2i6  SERMONS. 


the  gospel  ministry,  whatever  other  qualifications 
he  may  have,  and  in  whatever  degree.  But  while 
a  good  understanding  is  indispensable,  it  needs 
cultivation  and  instruction.  The  ambassador  of 
Christ  must  understand  his  instructions,  which  are 
the  whole  word  of  God.  This  requires  reading  and 
study.  The  revelation  of  God  was  not  intended  to 
supersede  the  use  of  the  understanding,  and  its 
improvement  by  study  and  education  ;  but  to  aid 
both,  by  affording  such  data  as  are  nowhere  else 
to  be  found.  Paul's  advice  to  Timothy  is  worthy 
of  all  observance  :  "  Give  attention  to  reading,  to 
exhortation,  to  doctrine ;  give  thyself  wholly  to 
them ;  that  thy  profiting  may  appear  unto  all," 
Thus  only  can  the  minister  of  Christ  adapt  his 
instructions  to  the  various  circumstances,  characters, 
and  wants  of  his  people,  know  how  to  speak  a  word 
in  season  to  them  that  are  weary,  to  array  every 
soldier  of  the  Cross  in  the  panoply  of  God,  and 
train  them  to  its  use ;  while  from  the  armory  of 
Heaven  he  brings  forth  those  weapons  of  his  war- 
fare which  are  mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling 
down  of  strongholds,  casting  down  imaginations, 
and  every  high  thing  that  exalteth  itself  against 
the  knowledge  of  God,  and  bringing  into  captivity 
every  thought  to  the  obedience  of  Christ.  "  In 
malice  be  ye  children,  but  in  understanding  be 
men." 

The   fourth    living    creature   was    like   a    flying 
eagle.     This   is  the  symbol  of  that  ardent  piety, 


THE   CHERUBIM.  217 

those  elevated  views  and  principles,  those  high  and 
spiritual  aims,  which  should  distinguish  the  man 
whose  office  leads  him  to  live,  habitually,  fast  by  the 
throne  of  God.  The  groveling  pleasures  of  sense, 
in  which  man  is  inferior  to  the  brute,  the  sordid  love 
of  self,  the  too  common  idolatry  of  the  world,  and 
the  low  ambition  of  gaining  the  honor  that  cometh 
from  man,  are  incompatible  with  the  pure  and  ele- 
vated pleasures  enjoyed  in  the  service  of  the  high 
and  lofty  One  that  inhabiteth  eternity,  the  incorrup- 
tible, undefiled,  and  unfading  inheritance  of  the 
saints,  and  the  holy  aspirings  after  the  favor  and 
fellowship  of  the  King  Eternal,  the  God  of  glory. 
The  true  minister  abhors  the  carnal  mind  which  is 
death,  while  he  exemplifies,  in  a  high  degree,  the 
spiritual-mindedness  which  is  life  and  peace  :  with 
eagle  flight  he  soars  above  the  littleness  of  earthly 
views,  and  employed  about  the  throne  of  the  great 
King,  he  shines  with  some  of  his  reflected  glory,  like 
the  face  of  Moses  descending  from  the  mount. 

And  the  four  living  creatures  had  each  of  them 
six  wings  about  him.  In  the  parallel  passage  in 
Isaiah  vi.,  it  is  added,  "  with  twain  he  covered 
his  feet,  and  with  twain  he  covered  his  face,  and 
with  twain  he  did  fly."  This  emblem  teaches  the 
humility  and  yet  the  promptness  with  which  the 
ministers  of  Christ  should  do  his  will.  While,  in 
the  presence  of  his  glory,  their  persons  and  services 
are  not  worthy  to  be  seen,  with  eager  delight  they 
stand  ready  to  fly  to  the  performance  of  any  service 


2l8  SERMONS. 


to  which  he  may  call  them.  Thus  cordially, 
promptly,  and  fully  do  they  make  haste,  and  delay 
not  to  keep  all  his  commandments. 

Third.  The  duties  of  the  Christian  ministry,  and  of 
the  church  in  fellowship  with  them,  are  taught  in 
this  representation. 

They  proclaim  the  declarative  glory  of  the  Triune 
God.  ''  And  they  rest  not  day  and  night,  saying, 
Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  God  Almighty,  which  was, 
and  is,  and  is  to  come."  They  act  as  the  High 
Priest  of  the  Universe  offering  up  to  the  only  living 
and  true  God  the  glory  due  unto  his  name.  The 
threefold  ascriptions  of  praise  to  God,  in  which  the 
visions  of  John  and  Isaiah  agree,  imply  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity,  and  give  to  each  Divine  person,  in 
the  unity  of  the  Godhead,  the  honor  due,  according 
to  the  parts  they  act  respectively  in  the  economy  of 
grace — to  the  Father,  the  glory  of  devising  the  plan, 
and  giving  the  Son  ;  to  the  Son,  the  glory  of  hum- 
bling himself  to  the  death  of  the  cross  for  us,  of  his 
condescension,  and  grace,  and  love ;  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  the  glory  of  his  communion,  by  which 
he  imparts  to  the  heirs  of  blessedness  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  purchased  salvation.  This  corresponds 
with  the  ordinance  of  baptism  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by 
which  is  exhibited  and  sealed  the  salvation  of  the 
sinner,  by  the  emblem  of  the  washing  of  regenera- 
tion and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  shed  on  us 
abundantly  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour ;  and 


THE   CHERUBIM. 


with  the  Apostolic  benediction,  *'The  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of  God,  and  the 
communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you  all." 

All  thy  works  praise  thee  and  thy  saints  bless 
thee,  but  it  is  eminently  the  duty  of  those  who  lead 
the  worship  of  the  church  to  be  devoted  to  the 
glory  of  the  God  of  salvation,  and  lose  themselves 
in  him,  in  light  ineffable.  The  nearer  the  planets  ap- 
proach to  the  sun,  the  more  their  borrowed  rays  are 
lost  in  his  incomparable  brightness.  So  should  it  be 
with  those  whom  God,  who  is  light,  hath  chosen,  and 
caused  to  approach  unto  him.  Their  every  wish 
should  merge  in  this,  *'To  show  forth  His  praise  who 
hast  called  them  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvelous 
light  "  :  they  of  all  men,  ''  should  live,  not  unto  them- 
selves, but  unto  Him  that  loved  them  and  gave  him- 
self for  them,"  also  to  whom  is  the  additional  grace 
given,  that  they  should  preach  "  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ."  Accordingly  their  next  duty,  as 
subordinate  to  the  first,  is  to  celebrate  the  grace  of 
the  Mediator,  through  whose  finished  work  the  glory 
of  the  Godhead  is  made  known,  and  the  salvation  of 
the  church  is  secured.  "And  the  four  beasts,  and 
four  and  twenty  elders  fell  down  before  the  Lamb, 
having  every  one  of  them  harps,  and  golden  vials  full 
of  odors,  which  are  the  prayers  of  saints  ;  and  they 
sung  a  new  song,  saying,  Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the 
book  and  to  open  the  seals  thereof :  for  thou  wast 
slain  and  hast  redeemed  us  unto  God  by  thy  blood  out 
of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation  ; 


220  SERMONS. 


and  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests: 
and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth."  They  lead  in  the 
praises  and  prayers  of  the  church,  and  teach,  while 
they  sing  the  grand  theme  of  their  ministry,  Christ 
crucified,  to  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block  and  to  the 
Greeks  foolishness ;  but  unto  them  that  are  called, 
both  Jews  and  Greeks,  Christ  the  power  of  God  and 
the  wisdom  of  God.  Preaching  the  gospel,  admin- 
istering the  sacraments,  exercising  government  and 
discipline,  and  superintending  the  general  interests 
of  religion,  by  authority  derived  from  Christ,  as  his 
ambassadors  and  agents  in  the  church  on  earth,  they 
are  to  give  themselves  to  the  great  object  of  show- 
ing forth  their  Master's  glory,  in  promoting  the  sal- 
vation of  the  church,  which  he  has  purchased  with 
his  own  blood. 

The  prediction  here  uttered,  "and  we  shall  reign 
on  the  earth,"  has  had  a  partial  accomplishment  in 
every  age,  from  the  first  commencement  of  the 
kingdom  of  grace  in  Paradise ;  and  the  symbol  of 
its  administration  in  the  cherubim  will  be  more  and 
more  accomplished  as  succeeding  ages  unfold  the 
purposes  of  grace,  and  will  be  most  fully  attained 
in  the  period  of  millennial  glory,  when  the  church  of 
God  shall  arise  from  its  afflicted  and  depressed 
state  to  the  ascendant  among  the  powers  of  earth  ; 
"  for  the  kingdom  and  dominion,  and  the  great- 
ness of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole  Heaven 
shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the 
Most     High,    whose    kingdom    is    an    everlasting 


THE    CHERUBIM.  221 

kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and   obey 
him." 

In  bringing  about  this  greatest  of  all  moral  revo- 
lutions the  ministry  are  to  act  the  leading  part 
among  the  instrumental  agencies  employed.  Many 
shall  run  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge  shall  be  in- 
creased, and  then  shall  the  end  come.  And  the 
necessity  for  this  instrumentality  is  thus  reasoned  by 
the  apostle :  "  Whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved.  How  then  shall  they 
call  on  him  in  whom  they  have  not  believed  ? 
and  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they 
have  not  heard  ?  and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a 
preacher?  And  how  shall  they  preach  except  they 
be  sent  ?  as  it  is  written,  How  beautiful  are  the  feet 
of  them  that  preach  the  gospel  of  peace,  and  bring 
glad  tidings  of  good  things  !  " — Rom.  x.,  13,  15. 

Thus  have  we  seen  that  the  cherubim  is  the 
symbol  of  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,  who  occupy 
the  most  honorable,  arduous,  and  responsible  station 
in  the  church  ;  whom  God  had  entrusted,  as  his 
representatives  and  agents  to  men,  with  the  con- 
cerns of  his  glory  ;  and  whom  he  has  appointed, 
with  their  consent,  the  leaders  and  representatives 
of  their  fellow-Christians  in  their  transactions  with 
God.  We  have  seen  the  characteristics  of  those 
who  fill  so  high  a  sphere  to  be  vigilant  circumspec- 
tion and  self-knowledge,  moral  courage,  patient 
laboriousness,  wisdom,  elevated  spiritual  affections 
and  aims,  humility    and    promptitude.      And   the 


222  SERMONS. 


duties  corresponding  with  these  relations,  and  in 
which  the  whole  church  have  fellowship  with  them, 
are  glorifying  and  enjoying  the  Triune  God,  spread- 
ing the  gospel,  ruling  the  church,  and  prompting 
that  kingdom  which  is  righteousness  and  peace  and 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  Thus  in  the  very  field  in 
which  Satan  gained  his  signal  triumph  over  our 
innocency,  and  gloried  in  our  ruin,  does  the  Cap- 
tain of  our  salvation  erect  the  standard  of  his  gospel, 
and  portray  in  living  characters  the  triumphs  of  his 
grace  :  Satan  vanquished  !  sin  subdued  !  justice 
satisfied  !  Heaven  made  sure  !  ''  Glory  to  God  in 
the  highest,  on  earth  peace,  and  good-will  to  men." 
From  this  subject  we,  who  are  in  the  ministry, 
may  learn  that  it  is  our  duty  to  magnify  our 
office.  We  ought  to  understand  the  favor  that 
is  shown  us  in  putting  us  into  the  ministry, 
that  we  may  give  to  God  our  Saviour  the  glory  of 
his  condescension  in  admitting  to  the  rank  of 
workers  together  with  him  such  poor,  unworthy 
sinners  as  we  are.  And  v/hile  we  remember  that 
the  treasure  is  in  the  earthen  vessel,  let  us  not  for- 
get the  end  of  this  dispensation, — "  that  the  ex- 
cellency of  the  power  may  be  of  God  and  not  of  us." 
Comparing  the  inspired  description  of  what  we 
ought  to  be,  with  what  we  are,  it  becomes  us  to  be 
humbled  under  a  sense  of  our  insufficiency.  And 
while  every  proper  exertion  is  used  to  approach  as 
near  to  the  scriptural  standard  as  possible,  let  the 
promise  of  the  Master  be  our  dependence  and  con- 


THE   CHERUBIM.  223 


solation,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the 
end  of  the  world  "  ;  ministerial  gifts  and  success,  as 
w^ell  as  office,  are  his  to  bestow. 

Let  the  promotion  of  the  glory  of  God  our 
Saviour  be  the  object  nearest  our  hearts,  and  stimu- 
late us  to  every  duty  of  our  holy  office.  "  Knowing 
also  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  let  us  persuade  men." 
And  animated  with  the  hope  of  the  honor  and 
blessedness  of  those  who,  having  turned  many  to 
righteousness,  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the 
firmament,  and  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever,  let  us 
not  even  count  our  lives  dear,  that  we  may  finish 
our  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  we 
have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the 
gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  Then  may  we  adopt 
the  language  of  one  now  in  glory :  "  I  have  fought 
a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept 
the  faith  :  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a 
crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  right- 
eous Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day  :  and  not  unto 
me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love  his 
appearing." 

Those  who  enjoy  a  dispensation  of  the  gospel  are 
bound,  in  duty  and  gratitude,  to  co-operate  with 
the  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  celebrating  the  excel- 
lencies of  Jehovah  and  the  mediatorial  work  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.  The  first  three  petitions  in  the  Lord's 
prayer  indicate  what  should  be  the  grand  desires, 
prayers,  and  endeavors  of  all  his  people ;  that  his 
name  should  be  hallowed  by  extending  his  kingdom, 


224  SERMONS. 


until  his  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in 
Heaven. 

As  the  harvest  is  plenteous  and  the  laborers  are 
few,  pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that 
he  will  send  forth  laborers  into  his  harvest.  And 
see  that  you  make  a  personal  use  of  the  dispensation 
of  the  gospel,  searching  the  Scriptures  daily,  whether 
the  things  which  you  hear  are  so  ;  and  whatever  his 
ambassadors  publish  according  to  their  instructions, 
lay  it  up  in  your  hearts  in  faith  and  love,  and  practice 
it  in  your  lives.  A  most  solemn  responsibility  rests 
upon  the  hearers  of  the  gospel,  as  well  as  upon  those 
who  herald  it.  If  it  be  not  the  means  of  your  salva- 
tion, it  will  exceedingly  aggravate  your  doom. 

"  We  are  unto  God  a  sweet  savor  of  Christ,  in 
them  that  are  saved,  and  in  them  that  perish :  to 
the  one  we  are  the  savor  of  life  unto  life ;  and  to 
the  other  the  savor  of  death  unto  death."  "  Now 
then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ  as  though  God 
did  beseech  you  by  us,  v/e  pray  you,  in  Christ's 
stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God."  Thus  may  we  all 
at  last,  ministers  and  people,  unite  in  the  anthem  of 
the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born 
that  are  written  in  Heaven :  "Thou  art  worthy — for 
thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy 
blood  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people, 
and  nation  ;  and  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings 
and  priests."  *'  Blessing,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and 
power,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne, 
and  unto  the  Lamb,  for  ever  and  ever." 


THE  ATONEMENT. 


225 


THE  ATONEMENT. 

"  Behold  the  Lamb   of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world!"— John  i.,  29. 

^  npHE  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of 
I  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness 
unto  him,  neither  can  he  know  them  because  they 
are  spiritually  discerned." 

The  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  Bible  are  either  un- 
interesting to  unrenewed  men,  because  beyond  the 
range  of  their  voluntary  thought,  or  hated  by  them, 
because  opposed  to  their  natural  prejudices  and 
feelings;  and  when  forced  upon  their  attention 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  excite  a  decided  repul- 
sion, and  produce  a  shock  like  the  stroke  of  the 
torpedo. 

While  every  form  of  error  and  delusion  enjoys,  in 
its  turn,  the  sunshine  of  popular  favor,  the  truth, 
which  has  God  for  its  author  and  heaven  for  its  end, 
insures  to  its  advocates  and  friends  the  ungrateful 
distinction  that  they  shall  be  everywhere  spoken 
against.  But  God  seeth  not  as  man  seeth.  And  he 
has  informed  us  that  his  word  shall  have  its  day,  and 
every  form  of  soul-destroying  heresy  be  exposed  in 
its  true  colors,  and  be  banished  from  the  earth  ;  for 
the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord, 

227 


228  SERMONS. 


as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  And  from  one  new 
moon  to  another,  and  from  one  Sabbath  to  another, 
all  flesh  shall  come  to  worship  before  the  Lord  of 
hosts.  The  atonement  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is 
to  the  Christian  what  the  sun  is  to  the  solar  system. 
Take  this  away,  and  universal  night  and  death  suc- 
ceed. Preserve  this,  and  all  is  order,  and  light,  and 
life,  and  beauty  and  gladness.  Mistake,  here,  gives 
dim  eclipse,  and  sheds  disastrous  twilight  over  many 
nations. 

John,  the  forerunner  of  the  Messiah,  announced 
his  arrival  on  the  field  of  official  action,  and  de- 
scribed his  character  and  works  in  the  words  of  the 
text. 

Other  lambs,  of  earthly  race  and  from  human 
folds,  had  bled  by  millions,  but  could  never  take 
away  sin.  Save  as  a  shadow  of  the  coming  Saviour, 
they  seemed  only  as  a  continual  testimony  of  abid- 
ing guilt,  the  judicial  bond  of  our  unsatisfied  obli- 
gations, the  handwriting  of  ordinances  that  was 
against  us.  But  now  appears  the  Lamb  of  God's 
providing,  who,  by  one  sacrifice  of  himself,  should 
forever  perfect  them  that  are  sanctified,  and  obtain 
eternal  redemption  for  us.  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God, 
that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  The  dim 
shadow  is  passed,  for  the  glorious  substance  is  come. 
The  inefficient,  because  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
away  sin  the  worthless  sacrifices  of  slain  beasts 
have  given  place  to  a  victim  so  precious  that  to  fur- 
nish the  sacrifice  has  made  the  treasury  of  heaven 


THE  A  TON  EM  EN  T.  229 

comparatively  poor ;  for  all  that  yet  remains  in  the 
gift  of  God  is,  by  inspired  computation,  in  compar- 
ison with  this,  of  small  value.  *'  He  that  spared  not 
his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how 
shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things?  " — 
Rom.  viii.,  32. 

^'  If  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats,  and  the  ashes  of 
an  heifer,  sprinkling  the  unclean,  sanctifieth  to  the 
purifying  of  the  flesh,  how  much  more  shall  the 
blood  of  Christ,  who  through  the  eternal  Spirit 
offered  himself  without  spot  to  God,  purge  your 
conscience  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living 
God." — Heb.  ix.,  13,  14. 

The  text  teaches  the  doctrine  of  atonement  in 

I.  Its  Nature.  "  The  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  sin." 

II.  Its  Extent.     ''  The  sin  of  the  world." 

I.  Its  Nature.  The  removal  of  the  guilt  of  sin, 
by  the  vicarious  sufferings  of  the  Lamb  of  God. 

The  doctrine  of  atonement  is  part  of  the  doctrine 
of  justification.  The  latter  describes  the  condition 
of  those  who  are  enabled  to  meet  all  the  demands 
of  the  law,  through  the  obedience  and  death  of  their 
Surety.  The  former  is  confined  to  his  fulfilling  in 
their  behalf  the  penalty  of  the  law.  The  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  does  both  for  his  people,  for  he  is  the  Lord 
their  righteousness.  By  the  obedience  of  one,  shall 
many  be  made  righteous.  By  his  enduring  the  pen- 
alty, they  are  delivered  from  hell ;  by  his  obeying 


SERMONS. 


the  precept,  they  are  entitled  to  heaven.  But  to 
satisfy  Divine  justice  for  our  sins,  being  a  much  more 
difficult  work  than  to  obey  the  precept  of  the  law, 
that  satisfaction  is  the  most  prominent  feature  in 
the  work  of  salvation.  Adam  was  made  capable,  at 
the  first,  of  procuring  in  the  stead  of  his  race  a  title 
to  heaven.  But  no  mere  creature  was  ever  required 
or  permitted  to  attempt  the  work  of  enduring  the 
curse  of  the  broken  law.  This  was  reserved  for  the 
only  being  in  the  universe  who  was  competent  to 
the  task,  the  Eternal  Life,  who  was  with  the  Father, 
and  who  was  manifested  unto  us,  who  is  the  propi- 
tiation for  our  sins. 

The  subject  may  be  presented  in  the  following 
propositions  : 

I.  Sin  has  brought  man  under  obligation  to  en- 
dure the  penalty  of  the  law,  which  is  death.  This 
obligation  is  his  guilt — the  bond  which  binds  his  soul 
over  to  the  endurance  of  the  wrath  of  God  ;  as  many 
as  are  of  the  works  of  the  law  are  under  the  curse, 
for  it  is  written  :  "  Cursed  is  every  one  that  contin- 
eth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book 
of  the  law  to  do  them." — Gal.  iii.,  lo.  ''  The  wages 
of  sin  is  death." — Rom.  vi.,  23.  *'  Ye  were  by  nature 
the  children  of  wrath,  even  as  others." — Eph.  ii.,  3. 
"  Children  of  wrath  "  is  a  Hebraism,  meaning,  wor- 
thy of  punishment.  "  Knowing  the  judgment  of 
God,  that  they  which  commit  such  things  are  wor- 
thy of  death. — Rom.  i.,  32.  The  holiness,  justice, 
and  truth  of  God  confirm  these  declarations.     His 


THE  ATONEMENT.  231 

holiness,  who  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil, 
and  can  not  look  upon  sin,  must  be  a  consuming  fire 
against  the  workers  of  iniquity.  His  justice  will 
enforce  the  rights  of  God,  and  exact  the  incurred 
penalty.  If  it  did  not,  it  were  in  effect  confessing 
that  the  law  had  enacted  more  than  was  meet.  His 
truth  would  be  violated  if  the  threatened  vengeance 
were  not  inflicted :  what  a  cloud  would  it  throw 
over  the  character  of  God,  if  the  transgressions  of 
his  law  were  suffered  to  go  unpunished,  if  no  repa- 
ration was  made  to  his  insulted  honor  and  injured 
justice.  It  would  overturn  the  foundation  of  all 
morals  by  marring  their  prototype,  by  effacing  the 
image  and  glory  of  God  from  the  record  of  his 
doings  with  man.  But  heaven  and  earth  shall  pass 
away,  sooner  than  one  jot  or  tittle  of  his  law  shall 
fail  of  its  accomplishment,  and  every  transgressor  of 
the  law  be  sacrificed  upon  the  altar  of  Divine  ven- 
geance ere  the  shadow  of  a  shade  shall  pass  upon 
the  glory  of  his  administration.  If  sin  might  go  un- 
punished and  leave  the  character  and  glory  of  God 
untarnished,  then  why  are  men  punished  with  ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
and  from  the  glory  of  his  power  ?  It  were  blas- 
phemy to  ascribe  such  gratuitous  cruelty  to  the 
ever-blessed  God. 

"  Die,  man  or  justice  must,  unless  for  him 
Some  other,  able  and  as  willing,  pay 
The  rigid  satisfaction,  death  for  death." 

2.  The  Surety  of  the  new  covenant,  by  identifying 


232  SERMONS. 


himself  with  us  in  our  legal  relations,  assumed  the 
obligation  to  endure  our  penalty,  and,  by  enduring, 
did  remove  it  from  his  people.  The  grand  principle 
which  pervades,  and  harmonizes,  and  explains  all 
the  representations  of  Scripture  on  this  momentous 
subject,  is  that  of  federal  union.  Whether  this  be 
the  philosophy  of  the  subject  or  not,  it  is  the  essen- 
tial fact  without  which  all  is  confusion  and  ob- 
scurity, and  the  great  end  of  the  scheme  of  re- 
demption— satisfying  Divine  justice  for  the  sin  of 
man — remains  as  unsolvable  a  problem  as  ever. 
But  this  truth  unlocks  the  mysteries  of  salvation. 
It  is  contained  in  the  title  given  to  the  Saviour, 
Heb.  vii.,  22  :  ''a  Surety  of  a  better  testament "  or 
covenant ;  and  in  all  that  is  said  of  his  works  in 
every  part  of  Holy  Writ.  The  surety  and  the  prin- 
cipal, however  related  to  each  other,  are  externally 
but  one :  hence  the  common  sense  of  mankind  and 
the  laws  of  all  nations  hold,  that  whenever  a  man 
originally  free  becomes  surety  for  another,  he  is 
justly  held  accountable  for  his  debts.  They  are  one 
in  law.  Nor  is  this  principle  confined  to  commer- 
cial tra»nsactions.  What  are  hostages  but  sureties 
given  for  the  fulfillment  of  treaties  and  answerable 
for  the  nation  to  which  they  belong,  even  with  their 
lives  ?  On  what  principle  ?  Because,  to  the  other 
party,  they  and  their  people  are  one.  When,  during 
the  war  of  American  Independence,  the  British, 
having  made  General  Lee  prisoner,  considered  and 
treated  him  as  a  traitor,  the  Congress  then  resorted 


THE  A  TONEMENT.  233 

to  reprisals.  They  ordered  that  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Campbell  and  five  Hessian  officers  should  be  impris- 
oned and  treated  as  General  Lee  was.  The  history 
of  Damon  and  Pythias  illustrates  the  same  truth. 
Not  only  does  the  common  sense  of  mankind  con- 
firm this  position,  but  the  testimony  of  Scripture  is 
full  to  the  point.  Judah  becomes  surety  for  his 
brother  Benjamin  to  his  father:  '^  I  will  be  surety 
for  him  ;  of  my  hand  shalt  thou  require  him  :  if  I 
bring  him  not  unto  thee,  and  set  him  before  thee, 
then  let  me  bear  the  blame  forever." — Gen.xliii.,9. 
He  repeats  the  transaction  to  Joseph,  and  accord- 
ingly entreats  :  "  Let  thy  servant  abide  instead  of 
the  lad  a  bondman  to  my  lord." — Gen.  xliv.,  33. 
This  principle  is  assumed  by  the  prophet  of  the 
Lord,  and  applied  to  Ahab  because  he  had  suffered 
Benhaded  to  escape:  ''Thus  saith  the  Lord,  be- 
cause thou  hast  let  go  out  of  thy  hand  a  man  whom 
I  appointed  to  utter  destruction,  therefore  thy  life 
shall  go  for  his  life,  and  thy  people  for  his  people." 
— I  Kings,  XX.,  42.  Paul  becomes  surety  for  Onesi- 
mus  to  Philemon  :  "  If  he  hath  wronged  thee,  or 
oweth  thee  aught,  put  that  on  mine  account." — 18. 
The  same  apostle  states  and  applies  the  principle  to 
Christ :  '*  For  scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  will  one 
die  :  yet  peradventure  for  a  good  man  some  would 
even  dare  to  die.  But  God  commendeth  his  love 
toward  us,  in  that  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ 
died  for  us." — Romans  v.,  7,  8. 

This  union  by  the  everlasting  covenant  gives  the 


234  SERMONS, 


character  of  justice  to  all  the  dealings  of  God,  the 
Sovereign  and  Judge  of  men,  with  Christ  and  his 
church.  Because  He  and  his  Church  are  one,  like 
the  husband  and  the  wife,  Ps.  xlv.,  Song  of  Songs, 
Eph.  v.,  23,  Rom.  vii.,  4,  it  is  right  that  He,  who  in 
himself  is  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  and  separate 
from  sinners,  should  **  be  made  sin  for  us,  should 
bear  our  sins  and  carry  our  sorrows."  For  the  same 
reason  it  is  right  that  we,  who  are  by  nature  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins  and  children  of  wrath,  should  be 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him.  "  In  Him 
shall  all  the  seed  of  Israel  be  justified  and  shall 
glory."  *'  Of  Him  are  ye  in  Christ,  who  of  God  is 
made  unto  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanc- 
tification  and  redemption." 

This  principle  makes  the  vicarious  sufferings  of  an 
innocent  person  right  ;  without  it,  nothing  could  be 
more  heinously  unjust  than  to  treat  a  person,  al- 
together sinless  and  sustaining  no  legal  union  to  the 
proper  offender,  as  that  offender  deserves.  Without 
it,  the  fact  that  Christ  has  suffered  Avere  at  irrecon- 
cilable war  with  the  revealed  perfections  of  God. 

The  terms,  substitution  and  representation,  imply 
this  union,  and  derive  their  propriety  from  it,  while 
they  present  in  harmonious  action  the  justice  and 
mercy  of  God  exacting  the  penalty  of  his  violated 
law,  and  yet  sparing  the  unworthy  offender,  and 
blessing  him  with  righteousness,  and  honor,  and  life 
everlasting. 

The  whole  doctrine  of  sacrifice,  typical  and  real. 


THE  ATONEMENT.  235 

goes  upon  the  principle  of  substitution.  "And  he 
shall  lay  his  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  hirnt  offer- 
ing, and  it  shall  be  accepted  for  him  to  make  atone- 
ment for  him''  ''And  Aaron  shall  lay  both  his 
ha?ids  upon  the  head  of  the  live  goat,  and  confess  over 
him  all  the  iniquities  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
all  their  transgression  in  all  thQir  sms>,  putting  them 
upon  the  head  of  the  goat,  and  shall  send  him 
away  by  the  hand  of  a  fit  man  into  the  wilderness: 
and  the  goat  shall  bear  upon  him  all  their  iniquities 
unto  a  land  not  inhabited :  and  he  shall  let  go  the 
goat  in  the  wilderness." — Lev.  xvi.,  21,  22. 

What  is  thus  taught  in  relation  to  the  shadow  of 
good  things  to  come,  is  also  taught  in  relation  to  the 
substance.  ''  But  he  was  wounded  for  otir  trans- 
gressions, he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities;  the 
chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him,  and  with 
his  stripes  we  are  healed — the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him 
the  iniquity  of  us  all." — Isaiah  liii.,  5,  6.  ''Yet  it 
pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him  ;  when  thou  shalt 
make  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin,  \\^  shall  see  his 
seed,  he  shall  prolong  his  days, and  the  pleasure  of 
the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  his  hand.  He  shall  see  of 
the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied  :  by 
his  knowledge  shall  my  righteous  servant  justify 
many  ;  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniquities." — Isaiah 
liii.,  10,  II  ;  "who  his  own  self  bare  our  sins  in 
his  own  body  on  the  tree." — I  Pet.  ii.,  24.  The 
Lord  Jesus  is  proved  to  have  been  a  representative 
of  his  people,  because  everything  which  defines  a 


236  SERMONS. 


representative  is  ascribed  to  him,  and  to  Adam  his 
type,  in  this  respect,  or  in  none.  In  every  other  re- 
spect, they  are  perfect  contrasts  to  each  other. 

But  in  all  that  relates  to  the  covenant  of  works, 
Adam  and  his  posterity  were  identified.  Did  he  sin 
in  eating  the  forbidden  fruit  ?  so  did  they  in  that 
very  act.  "  By  one  man's  disobedience  many  were 
made  sinners." — Rom.  v.,  19;  was  he  condemned 
for  that  act  ?  so  were  they.  "  By  the  offence  of  one 
judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation.  " — 
Ver.  18.  Did  he  become  liable  to  the  penalty  of 
death  ?  so  did  they.  Through  the  offense  of  one 
many  be  dead." — Ver.  15.  The  case  of  Christ,  the 
antetype,  and  his  people  is  parallel  with  this,  simply 
as  the  principle  of  representation  is  held  in  common 
between  them  ;  the  covenants,  the  subjects,  and  the 
effects  of  the  operation  of  each  are  entirely  different. 
But  is  Christ  righteous?  so  are  his  people  by  his 
obedience:  "  By  the  obedience  of  one  shall  many 
be  made  righteous." — Ver.  19.  Was  he  justified  ?  so 
are  they  on  his  account :  "  By  the  righteousness  of 
one  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification 
of  life." — Ver.  18.  Was  he  entitled  to  blessedness 
and  glory  eternal,  in  consequence  of  his  obedience  ? 
so  are  they.  "  If  by  one  man's  offense  death  reigned 
by  one  ;  much  more  they  which  receive  abundance 
of  grace  and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness,  shall  reign 
in  life  by  one,  Jesus  Christ." — Ver.  17.  **As  in 
Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made 
alive." — I  Cor.  xv.,  22. 


THE  A  TON  EM  EN  T.  237 

All  the  terms  by  which  the  doctrine  of  atonement 
is  expressed  imply  and  illustrate  the  principle  of 
suretyship,  from  the  assumption  of  the  obligations 
of  the  principle  to  their  complete  fulfillment. 

1.  It  is  called  a  ransom,  the  price  of  the  liberty  of 
a  captive.  "  The  son  of  man  came  to  give  his  life  a 
ransom,  \\vrp6v'\  for  many." — Matt,  xx.,  28.  This 
term  expresses  both  the  value  and  the  efficacy  of 
his  sufferings  on  our  behalf.  The  immediate  effect 
of  this  ransom  is : 

2.  Redemption,  the  deliverance  of  the  captive 
from  his  bonds.  "  In  whom  we  have  redemption, 
{ocitoXvrpdaiv^  through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness 
of  sins." — Eph.  i.,  7.  ''  Ye  were  not  redeemed  with 
corruptible  things,  as  silver  and  gold,  from  your 
vain  conversation  received  by  tradition  from  your 
fathers  ;  but  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  as 
of  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot." — I 
Peter  i.,  18,  19. 

Besides  these  somewhat  figurative,  but  not  the  less 
expressive,  terms  there  are  others  which  denote 
more  particularly  the  way  in  which  the  atonement 
is  made. 

3.  The  sin  offering  [chalaah]  expresses  the  assump- 
tion of  our  sin  by  our  substitute,  and  his  bearing  it 
in  our  stead.  "  He  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us, 
who  knew  no  sin  ;  that  we  might  be  made  the  right- 
eousness of  God  in  him." — 2  Cor.  v.,  21.  "  Sacrifice 
and  offering  and  burnt-offerings  and  offerings  for 
sin,  thou  would  not,  neither  hadst  pleasure  therein  ; 


238  SEI^AWNS. 


which  are  offered  by  the  law  ;  then  said  he,  lo,  I  come 
to  do  thy  will,  O  God.  He  taketh  away  the  first 
that  he  may  establish  the  second ;  by  the  which  will 
we  are  sanctified  through  the  offering  of  the  body  of 
Jesus  Christ  once  for  all." — Heb.  x.,  8,  10.  "  Now 
once  in  the  end  of  the  world  hath  he  appeared  to 
put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself."  *'  Christ 
was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many." — ix., 
26,  28. 

The  terms  which  have  been  adduced  describe  our 
surety  assuming  the  load  of  our  guilt,  and,  by  en- 
during the  penalty  of  the  law  in  our  stead,  render- 
ing full  satisfaction  to  Divine  justice  on  our  behalf. 
Those  which  follow  indicate  the  efficacy  of  his  suf- 
fering in  the  removal  of  guilt  and  the  consequent 
wrath  and  curse  of  God. 

4.  Atonement  [copher]  literally  means  to  cover, 
to  hide  transgression  by  enduring  the  penalty. 
"And  the  priest  shall  make  an  atonement  for  them, 
and  it  shall  be  forgiven  them." — Lev.  iv.,  20.  The 
corresponding  verb  [cophar]  signifies  to  propitiate, 
to  appease.  *'  I  will  appease  him  with  the  present 
that  goeth  before  me." — Gen.  xxxii.,  20.  '*  As 
for  our  sins,  thou  wilt  purge  them  away." — Ps. 
Ixv.,  3.  The  words  by  which  these  are  rendered 
in  the  Septuagint  translation,  and  which  are  adopted 
by  the  New  Testament  writers,  are  : 

5.  Reconciliation.  "To  make  reconciliation, 
\iXa(jKii(j^ai\  for  the  sins  of  the  people." — Heb.  ii., 
17.     "And   he   is    the    propitiation    \i\aa/A,of\    for 


THE  A  TONEMENT.  239 

our  sins." — i  John  ii.,  2.  The  only  word  translated 
atonement,  in  the  New  Testament,  literally  means 
reconciliation,  {nar a\\ayi)v'\ — Rom.  v.,  1 1.  It  is 
so  rendered  in  all  the  other  places  where  it  is  used; 
"  the  word  of  reconciliation  "  ;  — 2  Cor.  v.,  18,  19  ;  "  if 
the  casting  away  of  them  be  the  reconciling  of  the 
world." — Rom.  xi.,  15. 

6.  Propitiation.  "  Whom  God  hath  set  forth  to 
be  a  propitiation  \i\aarrjpLoy\  through  faith  in  his 
blood." — Rom.  iii.,  25.  This  word  is  used  in  the 
Septuagint : — Lev.  xvi.,  13,  15,  16,  and  in  Heb.  ix., 
5,  for  the  covering  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  and 
hence,  by  a  natural  and  beautiful  transition,  for  that 
blood  of  the  new  covenant,  which  covers  and  hides 
the  old  covenant,  which  we  have  broken,  from  the 
eyes  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 

The  two  goats,  on  the  great  day  of  atonement, — 
Lev.  xvi.,  illustrate  the  two  grand  ideas  to  Avhich 
these  terms  may  be  referred,  tJie  suffering  by  the 
one  that  was  slain,  and  its  efficacy  by  the  other,  the 
scape-goat  sent  away  into  the  wilderness,  and  bear- 
ing upon  him  all  their  iniquities  unto  a  land  of  sepa- 
ration. But  while  Jesus  zvas  all  that  the  sacrifices 
and  the  priests,  the  altar  and  the  tabernacle,  did  but 
dimly  shadow  forth,  the  i?ijinite  vahie  of  his  atone- 
ment, whose  price  is  above  all  price,  has  no  type. 
This  belongs  exclusively  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  As  this  results 
from  the  divine  nature  of  the  offerer,  it  constitutes 
the  divinity  of  his  sacrifice,  and  sets  it  an   unap- 


240  SERMOA^S. 


proachable  distance  from  everything  else  that  bears 
the  name.  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son, 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  *'  The  church  of  God 
which  he  hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood." 

But  it  is  objected,  Christ  did  not  endure  the  pen- 
alty of  the  law,  inasmuch  as  he  had  no  remorse  of 
conscience,  nor  does  he  suffer  forever. 

But  those  who  take  this  ground,  have  yet  to  show 
that  there  was  either  justice  or  utility  in  the  undis- 
puted fact,  that  Christ  did  suffer.  If  it  was  not  the 
penalty  to  our  sins,  what  was  it  ?  Not  for  his  own 
sins;  he  knew  no  sin.  His  sufferings  were  then 
wholly  gratuitous — not  deserved  either  by  himself  or 
his  people.  And  what  is  the  infliction  of  undeserved 
misery,  but  injustice  and  cruelty?  And  what  can 
be  the  utility  of  such  an  exhibition  in  the  eyes  of 
the  universe  ? 

But  whether  men  will  receive  it  or  not,  the  sure 
testimony  of  God  has  determined  the  question,  and 
that  testimony  will  w^eigh  more  with  right- hearted 
men  than  all  the  little  quibbles  of  self-conceited 
sciolists.  "The  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity 
of  us  all." — Isaiah  liii.,  6.  ''  God  sent  forth  his  Son, 
made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  to  redeem 
them  that  were  under  the  law." — Gal.  iv.,  4,  5. 
"  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
being  made  a  curse  for  us." — Gal.  iii.,  13.  If  Christ 
did  not  endure  the  penalty  due  for  the  sins  of  his 
people,  he  is  dead  in  vain  ;  for  this  is  the  very  end  for 
which  he  died.     If  the  substitute,  the  surety,  does 


THE  ATONEMENT.  241 

not  meet  the  obligations  of  his  principal,  he  fails  in 
his  undertaking,  and  those  obligations  remain  unan- 
swered in  all  their  force.  Nor  is  the  difficulty  sug- 
gested by  the  objection,  to  reconcile  the  difference 
between  the  principal  and  surety  with  the  endur- 
ance of  the  same  penalty,  so  insurmountable  as  to 
some  it  may  seem. 

To  say  the  surety  must  be  in  every  respect  af- 
fected as  the  principal  would  have  been,  had  the 
debt  been  exacted  from  him,  is  just  to  say  that 
the  principle  of  suretyship  is  useless.  That  it  is  not 
useless,  universal  experience  proves;  society  could 
not  exist  without  it.  But  its  greatest  use  has  been 
in  the  case  of  our  Surety,  our  Kinsman-Redeemer, 
whereby  glory  unspeakable  has  accrued  to  God,  and 
blessedness  eternal  to  man. 

The  infinite  dignity  of  God  makes  sin  against 
him  an  infinite  evil,  to  which  any  possible  sufferings 
of  the  sinner,  man,  in  any  given  time,  are  infinitely 
disproportioned.  His  sufferings  must,  therefore,  be 
eternal.  But  the  infinite  dignity  of  the  Son,  who 
thought  it  no  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  gives 
infinite  worth  to  his  atonement.  The  glory  of  the 
person  making  reparation  for  the  offence  is  equal  to 
that  of  the  person  offended,  and  therefore  his  satis- 
faction was  finished  and  complete  in  its  time. 

Eternity  of  sufferings  and  remorse  of  conscience 
for  personal  offences  are  not  essential  to  the  death 
threatened  for  breaking  the  covenant  of  works,  but 
accidents  resulting  from  the  nature  of  man  as  fallen. 


242  SERMONS. 


His  impotence  to  satisfy  Divine  Justice  leaves  him 
forever  in  debt,  and  his  mind,  conscious  of  guilt, 
lashes  him  with  the  horrors  of  endless  remorse. 
The  fire  is  never  quenched  because  the  corruption 
that  feeds  it,  instead  of  diminishing,  increases  for- 
ever. The  worm  dies  not  because  the  carcase  is 
ever  putrid.  But  when  the  fire  of  Divine  vengeance 
seized  upon  the  Lamb  of  God,,  it  met  neither  worm 
nor  corruption,  and  burnt  itself  out  in  bringing  him 
down  into  the  dust  of  death.  Having  laid  down 
his  life,  he  took  it  up  again,  and  rose  triumphant 
from  the  dead,  the  agent,  the  representative  of  his 
redeemed,  the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept.  The 
case  may  be  illustrated  by  a  familiar  comparison:  a 
poor  man  owes  a  hundred  dollars  which  he  is  unable 
to  pay.  If  exacted  from  him.,  it  involves  himself 
and  family  in  inextricable  difficulties,  from  which 
they  may  never  emerge.  But  if  a  kind  and  wealthy 
friend  becomes  surety  for  him,  he  can  pay  the  debt 
with  comparative  ease,  and  all  the  long  train  of 
calamities,  in  the  other  case,  will  be  entirely 
avoided.  So,  if  insolvent  man  must  pay  his  debt 
himself,  the  prison  of  hell  must  contain  him  forever. 
But  his  surety,  Emmanuel,  can  discharge  it,  and  not 
only  save  him  from  ruin,  but  confer  on  him  an  in- 
heritance incorruptible  and  undefiled,  and  that 
fadeth  not  away,  while  himself,  instead  of  being 
ruined  in  the  attempt  to  redeem  us  from  the  curse 
of  the  law,  by  being  made  a  curse  in  our  place,  re- 
ceives an  infinite  accession  to  his  declarative  glory. 


THE  A  TONEMENT.  243 

He  emerged  from  the  humiliation,  the  shame  and 
the  wrath  to  which,  laying  aside  the  honors  of  the 
Deity,  he  involuntarily  submitted,  as  Mediator, 
when  he  received  in  his  sacred  person  the  ven- 
geance due  to  us,  when  it  was  said,  "Awake,  O 
sword,  against  the  man  that  is  my  fellow,  saith  the 
Lord  of  Hosts ;  smite  the  shepherd."  Having 
drunk  the  cup  of  death,  the  very  penalty  of  the  law, 
the  wages  of  sin,  whose  nameless  horror,  amaze- 
ment, and  anguish  none  but  he  could  either  under- 
stand or  endure,  he  rose  the  vanquisher  of  Satan, 
the  conqueror  of  sin,  the  victor  of  death,  and  the 
grave,  and  hell,  and  dragged  them  in  triumph  at  his 
chariot  wheels;  while  the  partial  obscuration  of  the 
brightness  of  his  divine  majesty  increases,  by  con- 
trast, the  splendors  of  that  glory  with  which  he  is 
invested  henceforth  and  forever.  The  varied  beau- 
ties of  the  rainbow  round  about  his  throne,  the 
glory  of  his  character  and  doings  reflected  from  the 
dark  cloud  of  the  wrath  he  had  endured,  the  tem- 
pest which  had  beaten  upon  him  for  his  people's 
sake,  will  beam  the  story  of  his  spotless  holiness, 
his  inflexible  justice,  his  inviolable  truth,  his  im- 
measurable love,  stronger  than  death,  which  the 
floods  of  almighty  vengeance  could  not  quench ; 
while  every  heart  and  every  voice  of  the  saved  from 
amongst  men  ;  ministers  and  members  of  the  church, 
once  militant,  now  triumphant,  raise  the  anthem  of 
the  skies,  "Thou  art  worthy,  for  thou  wast  slain, 
and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood   out  of 


244  SER3rONS. 


every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation, 
and  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests." 
And  their  elder  brothers  of  creation,  the  angels  of 
light,  unenvious  of  their  bliss,  join  with  glad  trans- 
port the  concert  of  praise,  *'  Worthy  is  the  Lamb 
that  was  slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and  wis- 
dom, and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  bless- 
ing "  :  and  every  creature  which  is  in  heaven  and  on 
the  earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in 
the  sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them,  in  universal  chorus 
swell  the  strain,  *'  Blessing,  and  honor,  and  glory, 
and  power  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne, 
and  unto  the  Lamb,  for  ever  and  ever." 

IL  The  Extent  of  the  Atonement,  is  determined 
by  its  nature :  the  *'  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world." 

I.  If,  as  has  been  shown,  the  federal  union  of 
Christ  and  his  people  is  the  basis  of  the  atonement, 
then  it  extends  only  to  those  for  whom  he  en- 
gaged to  be  surety  in  the  everlasting  covenant :  who 
were  *'  chosen  in  him,  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world  :  " — Eph.  i.,  4  :  who  were  given  to  him  ; 
should  come  unto  him  and  be  saved.  "  All  that  the 
Father  giveth  me,  shall  come  to  me ;  and  him 
that  Cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out. 
And  this  is  the  Father's  will  which  hath  sent  me, 
that  of  all  which  he  hath  given  me,  I  should  lose 
nothing,  but  should  raise  it  up  again  at  the  last 
day."— John  vi.,  37,  39. 

The  condition  of  that  covenant  is  the  obedience 


THE  ATONEMENT.  245 

unto  death,  of  the  Surety,  the  Kinsman-Redeemer, 
which  is  therefore  called  "  the  blood  of  the  cove- 
nant." "  Thou  shalt  make  his  soul  an  offering  for 
sin."  Is.  liii.,  10.  The  promise  suspended  upon  it  is, 
"  He  shall  see  his  seed,  he  shall  prolong  his  days, 
and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  his 
hand  :  he  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall 
be  satisfied.  By  the  knowledge  of  himself  shall  my 
righteous  servant  justify  many  ;  for  he  shall  bear 
their  iniquities." — 10,  11.  This  promise  is  a  point- 
blank  contradiction  of  the  supposition  that  those  for 
whom  his  soul  travailed  shall  perish  forever,  that 
he  will  condemn  instead  of  justifying  those  for  whom 
he  bore  iniquity.  Beyond  this  union  and  its  con- 
sequent representation  and  substitution,  the  atone- 
ment extends  not,  for  these  are  among  its  essential 
attributes,  without  which  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
could  they  have  been  endured  (as  they  could  not), 
had  availed  nothing. 

2.  All  the  terms  by  which  this  doctrine  is  ex- 
pressed confine  the  atonement  to  those  who, 
viewed  in  the  purpose  of  God,  are  the  elect,  and  in 
its  execution,  are  the  finally  saved.  Is  it  a  sin 
offering — a  sacrifice  ?  then  as  He  appeared  to  put 
aivay  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  they  shall  not 
perish  for  whom  he  suffered.  Is  he  the  Lavib  of 
God  ?  then  he  taketh  azvay  sin.  Is  it  a  ransom  ?  a 
price  of  redemption  of  infinite  value?  then  the 
captives  for  whom  the  price  is  paid  must,  in  justice 
to  him  who  paid  it,  in  due  time  be   free.     To  say 


246  SEJH  MOATS. 


otherwise  is  to  charge  injustice  upon  God,  in  not 
giving  to  the  Surety  what  he  purchased  at  so  great 
a  price,  or  to  make  the  ransom  itself  of  no  value, 
seeing  those  for  whom  it  was  paid  are  lost  forever, 
and  no  injustice  is  done.  Is  it  a  redemption  ?  Then 
its  subjects  must  be  free.  Is  it  a  propitiation  ? 
Then,  as  the  Saviour  did  not  die  in  vain,  his  suffer- 
ings shall  effect  their  purpose,  in  averting  the  dis- 
pleasure of  God  the  Judge,  and  procuring  accept- 
ance with  him  here,  and  at  the  Judgment  Day.  Is 
it  a  reconciliation  ?  Then  those  for  whom  it  was 
made  shall,  in  the  time  appointed,  be  actually  recon- 
ciled to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son. 

An  accepted  sacrifice  which  leaves  the  sinner  for 
whom  it  was  offered  and  accepted  under  endless 
guilt  and  misery  ;  a  ransom  of  infinite  value  which 
deserves  not  the  liberty  of  the  captives  ;  a  redemp- 
tion which  leaves  its  subjects  in  everlasting  bondage  ; 
a  propitiation  that  does  not  remove  displeasure  ;  a 
reconciliation  which  leaves  the  parties  at  endless 
variance,  are  gross,  palpable,  and  inexcusable  con- 
tradictions. But  these  are  the  proper  definitions  of 
the  scriptural  terms  by  which  the  doctrine  of  atone- 
ment is  expressed,  on  the  supposition  of  the  general 
atonement.  A  doctrine,  therefore,  which  makes  ab- 
surdity of  the  Bible,  must  itself  be  absurd. 

3.  The  atonement  is  expressly  limited  by  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  The  Saviour  says  :  "  I  lay  down 
my  life  for  the  sheep." — John  x.,  15.  To  say  that 
he  might  lay  down  his  life  also  for  others  who  were 


THE  A  TONEMENT.  247 

not  his  sheep,  is  to  make  his  language  unmeaning. 
Why  should  he  say  his  sheep,  if  the  objects  of  his 
death  were  indiscriminately  the  sheep  and  the  goats? 
Besides,  the  context  confines  the  sheep  to  those  who 
should  be  saved  :  "  My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I 
know  them,  and  they  follow  me  :  and  I  give  unto 
them  eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never  perish." — 
John  X.,  27,  28.  The  relation  between  the  good 
Shepherd  and  his  sheep  exists  antecedently  to 
faith  and  is  cause  of  it  ;  while  the  want  of  the  re- 
lation is  the  negative  reason  why  others  believe  not, 
as  the  absence  of  the  sun  is  the  reason  of  night. 
"  The  works  that  I  do,  they  bear  witness  of  me ;  but 
ye  believe  not  because  yc  are  not  of  my  sheep  :  my 
sheep  hear  my  voice." — John  x,,  25-27.  *'  Other 
sheep  I  have  which  are  not  of  this  fold  :  them  also 
I  must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice ;  and 
there  shall  be  one  fold,  and  one  shepherd." — Ver.  16. 
"To  you  it  is  given  on  the  behalf  of  Christy  to 
believe  on  him." — Phil,  i.,  29. — "Christ  loved //z^ 
church,  and  gave  himself  for  it." — Eph.  v.,  25.  The 
church  of  God,  which  he  hath  purchased  with  his 
own  blood." — Acts  xx.,  28. 

Christ's  intercession  is  limited  :  "  I  pray  for  them: 
I  pray  not  for  the  world,  but  for  them  which  thou 
hast  given  me." — John  xvii.,  9.  It  is  worse  than 
absurd  to  suppose  that  he  would  die  for  those  for 
whom  he  would  not  intercede  ;  that  he  would  do 
the  greater,  and  would  not  do  the  less. 

4.  The  Apostle  Paul  reasons  from  the  gift  of  the 


248  SERMONS. 


Son  to  the  absolute  certainty  of  every  other  good 
gift :  '*  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  de- 
livered him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with 
him  also  freely  give  us  all  things." — Rom.  viii.,  32. 
But  if  the  doctrine  of  general  atonement  be  true, 
the  apostle's  argument  is  without  force,  for  accord- 
ing to  it  he  has  given  his  Son  for  those  to  whom 
he  never  sends  the  knowledge  of  the  gift,  and  for 
whom  the  Son  never  intercedes. 

5.  The  direct  testimony  derives  confirmation 
from  the  absurdity  of  every  other  supposition. 
General  atonement  by  implication  charges  God 
with  injustice,  for  it  represents  him  as  exacting  the 
payment  of  a  debt  a  second  time,  after  it  has  once 
been  paid  and  he  has  accepted  the  payment.  After 
Christ  the  surety  has  paid  the  debt,  the  original 
debtor  must  be  cast  into  the  prison  of  the  pit  for- 
ever, and  for  the  same  sins  for  which  justice  has 
already  been  satisfied  !  Can  conduct  which  would 
ruin  the  character  of  a  man,  be  ascribed  to  the 
Righteous  One,  the  ever-blessed  God  ? 

Either  Christ  died  for  all  the  sins  of  all  men,  or 
some  of  the  sins  of  all  men,  or  all  the  sins  of  some 
men — not  for  all  the  sins  of  all  men,  for  then  all 
men  would  be  saved :  which  is  contrary  to  his  own 
testimony,  **  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting 
punishment."  Not  for  some  of  the  sins  of  all  men, 
for  then  the  other  sins  for  which  he  did  not  die 
would  insure  the  perdition  of  all  men  ;  which  none 
pretend   to   hold.     To    this    scheme    belongs   the 


THE  A  TONE  ME  NT.  249 

evasion,  that  all  are  not  saved  because  all  do  not 
believe,  for  their  unbelief  is  either  a  sin  or  it  is  not ; 
if  it  is,  it  has  either  been  atoned  for,  or  it  has  not : 
if  it  has,  why  should  any  be  lost  for  a  sin  which  has 
already  been  atoned  for  ?  If  it  has  not,  then  all 
must  perish,  for  all  are  by  nature  unbelievers.  If  it 
is  no  sin,  why  should  they  perish  without  cause? 
The  only  remaining  supposition  is  the  truth  for 
which  it  is  now  contended,  he  died  for  all  the  sins  of 
some  men  :  that  is,  the  atonement  is  limited.  The 
modern  evasion,  that  he  died  for  sin  in  the  abstract, 
nullifies  atonement  entirely,  inasmuch  as  it  assigns 
it  neither  object  nor  cause.  Sin  is  a  quality  of  the 
actions  of  moral  beings,  and  can  have  no  existence 
without  them.  Sin  in  the  abstract  is  nothing,  and 
atonement  for  such  a  nothing  is  itself  less  than 
nothing  and  vanity. 

6.  The  text  itself,  when  fairly  interpreted,  con- 
firms the  view  which  has  been  taken,  although  it  is 
often  quoted  to  prove  the  contrary  doctrine :  "  Be- 
hold the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world."  The  world  are  those  whose  sins  he  takes 
away,  and,  our  opponents  themselves  being  judges 
(except  (Jniversalists),  the  sins  of  ail  men  without 
exception  are  not  taken  away. 

It  may  be  proper  here  to  state  a  general  principle  of 
interpretation  which  throws  light  upon  this  subject : 
general  terms  are  always  restricted  by  the  subjects 
to  which  they  relate,  and  by  what  is  predicated  of 
them.     In  the  present  case,  the  subject,  the  world, 


250  SERMONS. 


is  necessarily  restricted  by  what  is  asserted  of  it — 
that  Christ  takes  away  their  sins  ;  which,  if  asserted 
of  every  human  being  without  exception,  would 
contradict  the  other  Scriptures.  The  statement 
made  is  only  trite  of  some  men,  and  therefore  only 
extends  to  some.  John,  the  forerunner,  announced 
the  Messiah  whose  death  would  introduce  a  more 
extensive  dispensation  of  grace  than  had  obtained, 
and  accordingly  uses  a  term  of  extensive  significa- 
tion in  relation  to  the  object  of  his  coming  and 
death.  How  extensive  its  meaning  is,  must  be 
learned  from  the  context  and  other  parts  of  Scrip- 
ture. That  the  word  is  used  in  a  limited  sense,  is 
manifest  from  verse  10  of  this  chapter :  ''  The 
world  knew  him  not."  It  does  not  mean  that  none 
knew  him.  **  The  whole  world  lieth  in  wickedness," 
(the  wicked  one) — i  John  v.,  19.  In  the  same  verse  it 
is  said,  ''  We  are  of  God."  "  All  the  world  wondered 
after  the  beast." — Rev.  xiii.,  3.  If  it  mean  every 
human  being,  why  should  the  ''beast  make  war  with 
the  saints,"  vs.  7,  8.  And  in  St.  John  xii.,  19,  we 
have  a  case  analogous  to  the  text,  when  it  is  used 
for  those  who  have  a  special  interest  in  Christ ;  not 
every  human  being,  but  the  better  part  of  men: 
''The  world  is  gone  after  him." 

As  it  is  perfectly  obvious  that  scriptural  usage 
generally  gives  the  term  a  limited  signification,  so 
in  all  the  places  in  which  it  is  applied  to  the  salva- 
tion of  Christ,  the  immediate  context  proves  that  it 
is  to  be  taken  in  a  restricted  sense. 


THE  A  TONEMENT.  25 1 

"God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
shall  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." — John 
iii.,  16.  Then,  as  before,  the  greater  implies  the  less ; 
the  love  that  gave  the  Son  insures  every  other  gift, 
and  the  subject  is  defined  by  its  predicates.  Be- 
lieving and  being  saved  limit  the  term,  and  identify 
the  objects  of  God's  unutterable  love  with  the  sub- 
jects of  the  great  salvation.  His  counsel  shall 
stand  and  he  will  do  all  his  pleasure.  "  We  have 
heard  him  ourselves,  and  know  that  this  is  indeed 
the  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world." — John  iv., 
42.  He  is  the  Saviour  only  of  the  saved.  The 
saviour  of  the  finally  and  irretrievably  lost,  is  a  title 
as  absurd  as  it  is  dishonorable  to  the  great  Captain 
of  our  salvation. 

**  The  bread  that  I  will  give  is  my  flesh,  which 
I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world." — John  vi.,  51. 
But  the  apostle  regards  it  as  clearly  absurd,  to  sup- 
pose **  that  Christ  is  dead  in  vain,"  which  certainly 
he  would  be  if  any  of  those  for  whom  he  gave  his 
flesh  should  die  forever.  "God  was  in  Christ,  recon- 
ciling the  world  unto  himself ;  not  imputing  their 
trespasses  unto  them." — 2  Cor.  v.,  19.  The  world 
here  are  those  to  whom  God  does  not  impute  their 
trespasses — whom  he  reconciles  to  himself  ;  that  is, 
the  saved  from  among  men. 

"  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  not  for 
ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world." 
— I  John  ii.,  I,  2.     We,  and  the  whole  world,  are  the 


SERMOiVS. 


first  fruits,  and  the  whole  harvest  of  those  who  shall 
enjoy  the  light  of  God's  reconciled  countenance,  for 
whom  Christ  acts  as  advocate  according  to  his  own 
showing.  "  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for 
them  also  that  shall  believe  on  me  through  their 
word." — John  xvii.,  20.  In  the  First  Epistle  of 
John  the  whole  world  is  contrasted  with  believers 
then  in  the  world,  and  must  therefore  be  limited  by 
these  exceptions :  ''  We  know  that  we  are  of  God, 
and  the  wdiole  world  lieth  in  wickedness,"  [or  the 
wicked  one]. — I  John  v.,  19. 

The  word  *'  all  "  is  relied  upon  to  prove  general 
atonement.  But  the  context  shows,  in  every  place 
where  it  is  used  on  the  subject,  that  it  is  to  be 
restricted  to  the  people  of  Christ — the  elect,  the 
saved.  The  free  gift  came  upon  all  men,  unto  justi- 
fication of  life. — Rom.  v.,  18.  The  "  all  "  spoken  of 
are  limited  by  what  is  asserted  of  them  ;  they  are 
justified  and  live. 

"In  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." — i  Cor.  xv., 
22.  Who  are  the  all  ?  Not  every  man  without  ex- 
ception, which  is  Universalism — These,  the  wicked, 
''shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment";  but 
those  who  shall  be  made  alive  :  Christ  has  not  pro- 
cured for  them  a  salvable  state,  but  salvation.  To 
be  in  Christ,  and  to  be  saved,  belong  to  the  all ;  but 
neither  of  these  predicates  belong  to  the  lost  for- 
ever. 

"  If  one  died  for  all,  then  were  all  dead." — 2  Cor. 
v.,  14.     The  word  a.TtE'^avov^  translated  were  dead, 


THE  A  TONEMENT.  253 

is  rendered  in  the  same  verse  died,  and  should  be  so 
rendered  in  this  clause  :  '*  If  one  died  for  all,  then 
all  diedr  The  text  assumes  the  federal  identity  of 
Christ  and  the  all,  who  died  in  his  death  and  live  to 
him  who  died  and  rose  again  in  their  stead.  "  Who 
gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all." — i  Tim.  ii.,  6.  The 
context  shows  that  the  all  is  to  be  taken  indiscrim- 
inately for  men  of  all  ranks  and  descriptions,  for 
kings  and  all  that  are  in  authority  :  not  universally, 
for  then  it  were  enjoined  to  pray  for  the  dead  and 
the  finally  lost,  which  is  contrary  to  the  Scriptures. 
Besides,  this  ransom  deserves  and  must  secure  the 
deliverance  of  all  for  whom  it  was  given. 

In  showing  how  the  text  itself,  and  corresponding 
passages  of  holy  Scripture,  instead  of  disproving 
do  establish  the  doctrine  of  limited  atonement,  some 
of  the  principal  objections  to  that  doctrine  have 
been  anticipated  and  the  artillery  of  the  opponents 
turned  upon  themselves.  Some  other  objections  on 
which  reliance  is  placed  remain  to  be  considered. 

Such  general  terms  as  the  world,  the  whole  world, 
and  all  men,  however  explained  by  the  connection 
in  which  they  stand,  and  by  other  parts  of  Scripture 
on  the  same  subject,  are  by  many  regarded  as  quite 
conclusive  against  particular,  and  in  favor  of  indefi- 
nite, atonement. 

Many  of  the  passages  referred  to  have  been  al- 
ready remarked  upon  :  it  may  be  proper  to  notice  a 
few  others,  that  it  may  appear  that,  if  they  add 
nothing  to  the  evidence  already  adduced  in  support 


254  SERMONS. 


of  a  definite,  particular,  and  effectual  atonement, 
they  detract  nothing  from  it. 

*'  We  trust  in  the  living  God,  who  is  the  Saviour 
of  all  men,  especially  of  those  that  believe." — i  Tim. 
iv.,  lo.  If  the  word  Saviour  here  relates  to  external 
salvation,  and  "  all  men  "  means  every  individual, 
without  exception,  then,  indeed,  universal  salvation 
is  true  :  but  it  is  not  true :  therefore,  one  of  these 
terms  must  be  limited.  Saviour,  here  means  provi- 
dential preserver  in  danger,  which  the  Living  God 
is  to  all  men,  especially  to  believers.  This  confi- 
dence preserved  the  minds  of  the  apostles  in  calm- 
ness and  peace,  amid  the  dangers  and  trials  of  their 
work  and  ministry. 

"  Should  taste  death  for  every  man." — Heb.  ii.,  9. 
The  word  ''  man"  is  a  supplement  by  the  translators, 
and  according  to  the  context  would  more  properly 
be  supplied  by  the  word  so?i  :  "  For  it  became  him, 
for  whom  are  all  things,  and  by  whom  are  all  things, 
in  bringing  many  sotis  unto  glory,  to  make  the  Cap- 
tain of  their  salvation  perfect  though  sufferings." — 
Verse  10. 

Nor  is  it  possible  that  any  for  whom  Christ  died 
should  be  lost.  In  John  xvii.,  12:  "None  of  them 
is  lost  but  [si  ju?f]  the  son  of  perdition  ";  the  si/it^  is 
adversative,  not  exceptive,  as  in  almost  every  other 
case  in  which  it  is  used.  Luke  iv.,  26,  27  ;  Rev.  ix., 
4.  To  render  it  as  an  exceptive  in  all  these  cases 
would  be  to  assert  that  the  widow  of  Sarepta,  a  city 
of  Sidon,  was  one  of  the  widows  of  Israel ;  that 


THE  A  TONEMENT.  ^  255 

Naaman  the  Syrian  was  a  leper  of  Israel  ;  and  that 
men  are  vegetables.  These  being  absurd,  the  ad- 
versative sense  must  be  adopted,  and  then  it  would 
read :  *'  None  of  them  is  lost,  but  the  son  of  perdi- 
tion is  lost." 

"  Destroy  not  him  with  thy  meat,  for  whom  Christ 
died." — Rom.  xiv.,  15.  "And  through  thy  know- 
ledge shall  the  weak  brother  perish  for  whom  Christ 
died?" — I  Cor.  viii.,  11.  These  texts  are  adduced 
to  prove  that  some  of  those  for  whom  Christ  died 
shall  perish.  But  they  do  not  assert  this.  The 
tendency  of  the  conduct  reprobated  was  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  brother,  because  temptation  leads 
to  sin,  and  sin  to  death  ;  but  this  is  entirely  consis- 
tent with  the  effectual  grace  of  God,  which  can  pre- 
vent the  issue  to  which  it  tends.  Why  will  ye  die? 
means,  why  pursue  the  course  that  leads  to  death? 
not  that  all  men  who  do  now  pursue  it  shall  certainly 
perish. 

"  Of  how  much  sorer  punishment,  suppose  ye, 
shall  he  be  thought  worthy,  who  hath  trodden  under 
foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  hath  counted  the  blood  of 
the  covenant,  wherewith  he  was  sanctified,  an  unholy 
thing,  and  hath  done  despite  unto  the  Spirit  of 
grace  ?  " — Heb.  x.,  29.  But  the  person  sanctified  is 
the  Son  of  God,  the  immediate  antecedent,  according 
to  John  xvii.,  19.  "  For  their  sakes  I  sanctify  my- 
self." To  sanctify,  in  these  and  other  places,  means 
to  prepare  for  the  service  of  God,  in  his  temple, 
which  even  Jesus  could  not  do  without  the  blood 


256  SERMONS. 


of  the  covenant,  his  own  blood ;  as  the  High  Priest 
could  not  appear  in  the  holy  places,  without  blood 
of  others,  so  Jesus  entered  into  the  holy  place  not 
made  with  hands,  with  his  own  blood. 

"  There  shall  be  false  teachers  among  you,  who 
privily  shall  bring  in  damnable  heresies,  even  deny- 
ing the  Lord  who  bought  them,  and  bring  upon 
themselves  swift  destruction." — 2  Pet.  ii.,  i.  If 
deanorriVy  rendered  Lord,  means  God  the  Father, 
as  generally  it  does, — Luke  ii.,  29 ;  Acts  iv.,  24, 
then  the  text  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  question  ; 
it  simply  charges  these  false  teachers  with  apostasy 
from  God,  whose  they  were  by  creation  and  innumer- 
able benefits;  if  the  Son,  then,  according  to  their 
own  profession,  they  were  bought  by  Christ,  and 
ought  to  serve  him.  Their  denial  of  him  was  aggra- 
vated in  its  sinfulness,  because  against  their  avowed 
principles.  The  Scriptures  do  sometimes  represent 
things  according  to  human  opinion  and  profession  ; 
as  Jesus  takes  up,  on  his  own  principles,  the  young 
man  who  came  to  ask  the  way  of  eternal  life,  seek- 
ing to  be  justified  by  the  law.  And  Paul  says. 
Gal.  v.,  4:  "  Christ  is  become  of  no  effect  unto  you, 
whosoever  of  you  are  justified  by  the  law  ;  ye  are 
fallen  from  grace."  There  are  none  justified  by  the 
'law,  in  fact,  but  many  may  profess  to  be  so.  These 
teachers  were  Antinomians  turning  grace  into  an 
occasion  of  licentiousness.  They  claimed  relation- 
ship to  Christ,  but  he  never  knew  them. 

One  other  objection  which  deserves  attention,  as 


THE  A  TONEMENT.  257 


connected  with  the  practical  application  of  this  sub- 
ject, is  that  the  limited  atonement  is  inconsistent 
with  the  general  offer  of  the  gospel.  But  if  this  ob- 
jection had  real  force,  it  would  disprove  the  existence 
of  God.  It  assumes  that  no  blessings  are  to  be 
offered  to  any  who  can  not  receive  them. 

Now,  even  on  the  Arminian  scheme,  those  whose 
perdition  is  foreseen  can  not  believe.  But,  on  the 
principle  of  the  objection,  the  general  offer  implies 
a  right  and  power  to  be  saved  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  actually  saved,  which  disproves  prescience,  which 
disproves  God. 

Wherein  the  supposed  inconsistency  lies,  has  never 
been  shown.  Is  the  merchant  at  liberty  to  offer  his 
goods  to  the  whole  world,  as  far  as  his  advertisement 
goes,  when  all  the  world  knows  he  can  not  possibly 
supply  all  who  read  or  hear  his  offer?  and  is  it 
wrong  in  God  to  offer  his  salvation  to  multitudes 
more  than  he  ever  intended,  in  fact,  to  save  ?  Is 
the  general  advertisement  the  means  of  disposing 
of  the  stock  in  hand  ?  So,  also,  the  general  offer  is 
the  means  of  bringing  those  for  whom  Christ  died, 
to  the  actual  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  his  sal- 
vation. God  offers  nothing  which  he  will  withhold 
from  those  who  accept  his  offer.  He  promises  noth- 
ing, but  what  he  will  fulfill.  Whosoever  believes 
shall  be  saved.  Try  him,  sinner,  and  you  will  never 
have  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  your  confidence. 
"  Him  that  comcth  unto  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out."     Your  warrant  to  believe,  is  God's  free  offer 


258  SERMONS. 


in  the  gospel :  *'  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come 
ye  to  the  waters!  "  Believers,  behold  the  Lamb  of 
God!  Live  upon  Him  by  faith.  Cling  to  his  surety- 
ship, as  the  sheet-anchor  of  your  hopes.  Be  not 
dazzled  by  the  delusive  glare  of  an  atonement  so 
extensive  that  it  reaches  to  those  who  never  heard 
of  it,  and  are  hopelessly  and  forever  lost.  All  shall 
be  saved  by  the  only  real  and  true  atonement,  that 
ever  shall  be  saved.  The  scheme  which  claims  ex- 
clusive liberality  and  benevolence  adds  nothing  to 
the  happiness  of  man,  above  that  conferred  by  the 
limited  atonement,  while  it  removes  in  fact  the  only 
foundation  of  a  sinner's  hope,  and  casts  unutterable 
dishonor  upon  all  the  perfections  of  God. 


ANSWER  TO  A  DISCOURSE 

PREACHED    BY 

DR.  WILLIAM   E.   CHANNING 

AT  THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

SECOND  CONGREGATIONAL  UNITARIAN  CHURCH 
,  New  York,  Dec.  7,  1826. 


259 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION. 

I'^HE  Importance  of  the  subjects  embraced  in  this 
discourse,  and  the  abilities  of  its  author,  have 
given  it  celebrity.  But  it  is  promised,  that  "  when 
the  enemy  shall  come  in  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  shall  lift  up  a  standard  against  him."  How- 
are  we  to  look  for  the  fulfillment  of  this  promise  ? 
Clearly  by  prayer,  and  faithful  exertions  in  depend- 
ence on  Divine  aid,  as  workers  together  with  God. 
Seeing  then  that  a  bold  and  open  attack  has  been 
made  upon  those  doctrines  which  have  been  most 
dear  to  the  Church  in  every  age,  it  becomes  those 
who  are  set  for  the  defence  of  the  gospel,  promptly 
and  vigorously  to  repel  it.  Whilst  the  poison  of 
the  rankest  heresy  is  diligently  circulated  through 
the  veins  of  the  community,  and  threatening  to  cor- 
rupt the  vitals  of  human  hope,  effectual  antidotes 
should  be  everywhere  at  hand. 

The  plan  adopted  in  the  following  remarks  is  to 
follow  the  writer  of  the  discourse  through  his  intro- 
duction and  argument,  noticing  in  his  own  language 
the  positions  he  assumed,  and  adverting,  in  the 
course  of  the  discussion,  to  the  principal  reasons  by 
which  he  endeavors  to  support  them. 

261 


262  SERMONS. 


He  is  first  met  on  the  ground  which  he  has  chosen, 
that  of  general  reason  ;  and  then  the  doctrines  which 
he  contradicts  are  established  by  testimonies  from 
Holy  Writ,  and  the  opposition  of  his  scheme  and  his 
piety  to  the  doctrines  and  piety  of  the  Bible  and  of 
truth,  thence  briefly  inferred. 

First.  The  introduction  of  Dr.  Channing's  dis- 
course contains  several  views,  having  an  impor- 
tant bearing  upon  the  grand  question  in  debate, 
"  Whether  Unitarianism  or  its  opposite  be  the 
true  religion?  " 

§  I.  The  occasion  upon  which  this  sermon  was 
delivered,  and  the  services  of  which  it  was  a  part, 
may  serve  to  throw  light  upon  the  character  of  that 
system  which  it  advocates. 

A  house  of  worship  is  to  be  dedicated.  According 
to  the  uniform  usage  of  Scripture,  such  dedication  is 
never  made  to  any  being  but  to  God.  When,  there- 
fore, with  religious  services.  Unitarians  dedicate  their 
church  to  Jesus  Christ,  who  according  to  them  is  a 
mere  man,  at  most  a  creature,  they  are  guilty  of 
idolatry  ;  for  by  the  very  act  of  dedication  they  give 
to  a  creature,  equally  with  the  Creator,  the  honor 
which  is  due  to  God  alone,  (2  Chron.  vii.,  5  ;  Ezra  vi., 
16,  17.)  Dr.  Channing  in  the  close  of  his  sermon, 
where  he  resumes  this  subject,  explains  dedication, 
by  *'  offering  up  to  the  only  living  and  true  God  : 
we  dedicate  it  to  the  King  and  Father  Eternal ;  we 
dedicate  it  to  Jesus  Christ :  we  dedicate  it  to  the  Holy 
Spirit."     How,  then,  does  he  dare  to  ''  ofler  up  " 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  263 

the  same  sacrifice  to  a  man,  and  to  **  emanations  of 
light  and  strength?  " 

How  does  this  differ  from  dedicating  temples  to 
Jupiter,  and  to  Virtue,  or  Fear?  The  only  true 
answer  is,  the  Unitarian  God  is  a  different  being  from 
the  God  of  the  Bible,  who  will  not  give  his  glory  to 
another. 

§  2.  In  the  very  first  page.  Dr.  Channing  takes 
leave  of  his  text  (Mark  xii.,  29,  30)  and  the  whole 
Scripture  at  once,  and  never  through  the  whole  ser- 
mon so  much  as  pretends  to  establish  a  single  point 
in  debate  by  the  authority  of  the  inspired  word.  In 
this  he  is  at  least  consistent  with  himself  and  the 
other  lights  of  the  Unitarian  school — for  it  is  their 
uniform  endeavor  to  make  the  word  of  God  of  none 
effect.  He  informs  us:  "For  this  religious  act 
we  find,  indeed,  no  precept  in  the  New  Testament." 
The  old  Testament  he  does  not  condescend  to  notice. 
And  so,  according  to  their  own  showing.  Unitarians 
can  perform  religious  acts  without  any  authority 
from  the  Bible  at  all.  To  what,  then,  do  the  claims 
of  the  Bible  as  a  rule  of  life  amount  ?  Dr.  Channing 
shall  tell  us. 

"We  are  not  among  those  who  consider  the  writ- 
ten word  as  a  statute  book,  by  the  letter  of  which 
every  step  in  life  must  be  governed.  We  believe, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  one  of  the  great  excellencies 
of  Christianity  is,  that  it  does  not  deal  in  minute 
regulation,  but  that,  having  given  broad  views  of 
duty,  and  enjoined  a  pure  and  disinterested  spirit, 


264  SERMONS. 


it  leaves  us  to  apply  these  rules  and  express  this 
spirit  according  to  the  promptings  of  the  divine 
monitor  within  us,  and  according  to  the  claims  and 
exigencies  of  the  ever-varying  conditions  in  which 
we  are  placed  :  that  revelation  is  not  intended  to 
supersede  God's  other  modes  of  instruction ;  not  to 
disown,  but  to  make  more  audible,  the  voice  of 
nature."  Having  denied  the  binding  force  of  any 
minute  regulations,  and  admitted  nothing  but  views 
of  duty  so  broad  as  to  convey  (if  Unitarian  practice 
is  any  illustration  of  their  theory)  no  definite  instruc- 
tions at  all,  this  oracle  of  Unitarianism  betakes  him- 
self to  the  more  intelligible  dictates  of  nature. 

Not  only  will  their  broad  views  of  Scripture  per- 
mit them  to  perform  religious  acts,  but  to  form  their 
religious  creed,  not  only  without  the  slightest  inti- 
mations from  the  Divine  word,  but  in  direct  contra- 
diction to  its  explicit  declarations.  Of  this,  the  ser- 
mon under  consideration  is  a  fine  specimen.  Dr. 
Channing,  however,  is  not  alone  in  his  views  of 
Scripture.  Anti-Trinitarians  of  every  age  since  the 
days  of  Socinus  have  agreed  in  refusing  to  be  tram- 
melled or  restricted  in  their  views  by  the  decisions 
of  Scripture,  however  numerous  or  clear.""  Faustus 
Socinus,  after  having  condemned  the  received  doc- 
trine of  atonement,  says  :  "  Ego  quidam  etiamsi  non 
semel  sed  soepe  id  in  sacris  monimentis  scriptum 
extaret ;  non  id  circo  tamen  ita  rem  prorsus  se 
habere  crederem." 

*See  Magee  on  Atonement,  vol.  i.,  pp.  132-134,  and  157. 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  265 

"  Although  it  were  written  in  the  sacred  records 
not  once,  but  often,  yet  I  could  not  believe  that 
therefore  it  is  even  so." 

Smalcius  afifirms  of  the  Incarnation  :  "  Credimus 
etiamsi  non  semel  atque  iterum  sed  satis  crebro  et 
disertissime  scriptum  extaret  Deum  esse  hominem 
factum  multo  satius  esse  quia  haec  res  sit  absurda  et 
sanse  rationi  plane  contraria  et  in  Deum  blasphema 
modum  aliquem  dicendi  comminisci  quo  ista  de 
Deo  dici  possint  quam  ista  simpliciter  ita  ut  verba 
sonant  intelllgere."  "  Although  it  were  written,  not 
once  and  again,  but  with  sufficient  frequency,  and 
most  expressly,  forasmuch  as  this  thing  were  evi- 
dently absurd,  and  contrary  to  sound  reason,  and 
blasphemous  against  God,  we  believe  it  to  be  much 
better  to  invent  some  mode  of  speaking,  by  which 
these  things  may  be  said  of  God,  than  to  understand 
them  simply  as  the  words  signify." 

And  what  says  Dr.  Priestly,  the  apostle  of  Uni- 
tarianism  in  this  country  ?  Endeavoring  to  prove 
that  the  text  (John  vi.,  62),  "What  and  if  ye  shall 
see  the  Son  of  man  ascend  up  where  he  was  before  ?  " 
contains  no  proof  of  Christ's  pre-existence,  he  uses 
this  language  :  '*  Though  not  satisfied  with  any  inter- 
pretation of  this  extraordinary  passage,  yet,  rather 
than  believe  our  Saviour  to  have  existed  in  any  other 
state  before  the  creation  of  the  world,  or  to  have  left 
some  state  of  great  dignity  and  happiness  when  he 
came  hither,  he  would  have  recourse  to  the  old  and 
exploded    Socinian    idea  of    Christ's  actual   ascent 


266  SERMONS. 


into  heaven,  or  of  his  imagining  that  he  had  been 
carried  up  thither  in  a  vision,  which,  like  that  of 
St.  Paul,  he  had  not  been  able  to  distinguish  from 
a  reality.  Nay,  he  would  not  build  an  article  of 
faith  of  such  magnitude  on  the  correctness  of  John's 
recollection,  and  representation  of  our  Lord's  lan- 
guage;  and  so  strange  and  incredible  does  the' 
hypothesis  of  a  pre-existent  state  appear,  that  sooner 
than  admit  it  he  would  suppose  the  whole  verse  to 
be  an  interpolation,  or  that  the  old  apostle  dictated 
one  thing  and  his  amanuensis  wrote  another."  * 
With  such  declarations  before  us,  confirmed  by  the 
uniform  practice  of  Unitarian  writers,  to  what  do 
their  occasional  expressions  of  reverence  for  the 
holy  Scriptures  amount,  more  than  a  mask,  under 
Avhich  they  would  conceal  their  attempt  to  subvert 
from  its  foundations  the  religion  of  the  Bible  ? 

This  device,  however,  is  as  flimsy  as  it  is  insidi- 
ous. Their  semblance  of  Christianity  is  no  better 
than  a  veil  of  cobweb,  to  hide  their  enmity  to  the 
truths  of  the  gospel,  that  lurks  beneath  it.  They 
profess  to  believe  that  God  has  spoken  to  them  by 
a  revelation  from  heaven,  and  yet  refuse  to  credit 
his  testimony  ;  the  testimony  of  the  source  of  truth 
and  knowledge  himself  !  This  is  a  greater  absurd- 
ity a  thousand-fold,  than  has  ever  been  proved 
against  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  These  men 
have  a  much  better  claim  to  the  appellation  of 
Deists  than  of  Christians  ;  for  both  these  classes 
♦Letters  to  Dr.  Price,  pp.  57,  58,  etc.,  in  Magee. 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  267 

are  to  be  distinguished  from  Trinitarians,  more  by 
what  they  reject,  than  what  they  beheve  ;  and  they 
both  agree  to  reject  the  supreme  authority  of  the 
Bible  in  matters  of  faith,  and  appeal,  as  to  the 
highest  tribunal,  to  the  decisions  of  reason.  The 
principal  difference  between  Deists  and  Unitarians 
is  in  the  weight  they  attach  to  the  evidence  of  a 
Divine  revelation  ;  the  latter  admitting,  the  former 
rejecting,  the  conclusion  to  which  it  leads.  But 
this  difference,  instead  of  making  the  Unitarian 
ground  more  tenable,  makes  it  more  glaringly  weak 
and  absurd.  They  have  made  common  cause  with 
the  Deists,  in  adopting  one  class  of  their  argu- 
ments— that  drawn  from  the  supposed  unreason- 
ableness of  Trinitarian  doctrines ;  but  having  also 
admitted  the  truth  of  the  revelation.  Unitarians 
are  chargeable  with  the  contradiction  of  believing 
that  the  same  things  are  true  because  revealed,  and 
not  true  because  unreasonable. 

The  figment,  that  although  the  Bible  contains  a 
revelation  it  is  not  that  revelation,  is  in  fact  a  rejec- 
tion of  revelation  ;  for  we  shall  need  a  new  revela- 
tion to  inform  us  how  much  of  the  Scriptures  are 
infallibly  true  ;  unless,  indeed,  we  believe  Unitarian 
writers  have  been  inspired  to  do  this  needful  work, 
for  no  other  men,  calling  themselves  Christians, 
have  presumed  to  draw  the  line  between  the  truth 
and  the  errors  of  that  Scripture,  all  of  which  has 
been  given  by  inspiration  of  God.  His  Holiness  at 
Rome  may  now  hide  his  diminished  head,  for  he 


268  SEjRMO.YS. 


only  claims  to  give  infallibly  the  sense  of  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  these  improved  Popes  have  undertaken  to 
correct  the  errors  and  mistakes  of  the  inspired 
writers,  that  is,  of  the  Holy  Spirit  himself ! 

§  3.  Dr.  Channing  gives  a  review  of  the  dis- 
tinguishing features  of  Unitarianism  :  "  That  there 
is  One  God,  even  the  Father;  and  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  not  this  one  God,  but  his  son  and  messenger, 
who  derived  all  his  powers  and  glories  from  the 
Universal  Parent,  and  who  came  into  the  world  not 
to  claim  supreme  homage  for  himself,  but  to  carry 
up  the  soul  to  his  Father,  as  the  Only  Divine  Per- 
son, the  Only  Ultimate  Object  of  religious  wor- 
ship." 

Half  of  this  brief  confession  of  faith  consists  of 
negatives — that  there  is  not  more  than  one  Person 
in  the  Godhead,  and  that  Jesus  Christ  is  not  this 
one  God,  even  the  Father,  nor  the  ultimate  object 
of  religious  worship.  The  second  negative  is  Sa- 
bellianism,  which  Trinitarians  reject :  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  first,  they  affirm  that  there  are  three 
co-equal  Divine  Persons  in  the  one  God  ;  and  to 
the  last,  that  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  is,  equally  with 
the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  ultimate  object 
of  religious  worship.  And  yet,  with  all  this  opposi- 
tion of  sentiment,  Dr.  Channing  professes  charily 
for  Trinitarians,  who,  according  to  him,  are  Poly- 
theists  and  Idolaters ! 

"■  We  do  not  mean,"  he  says,  **  that  we  regard  our 
peculiar  views  as  essential  to  salvation  ";  but  when 


THE   TRUE  religion:  269 

he  tells  us  (pp.  33,  34)  that  the  Trinitarian  God  is 
stern  and  unjust,  doing  wrong  to  his  own  creatures, 
he  makes  "  it  evident  how  little  reason  they  have 
to  credit  "  liis  professions  of  charity.  If  he  can 
give  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  to  those  who 
worship,  as  he  supposes,  such  a  monster,  what  diffi- 
culty can  he  find  in  receiving  to  his  fraternal  em- 
brace the  devil-worshippers  of  the  East  ?  But  if 
Unitarian  charity  can  enclose  in  its  ample  embrace 
those  who  maintain  principles  so  horrible,  so  con- 
tradictory, so  blasphemous,  no  intelligent  and  pious 
Trinitarian  can  return  the  compliment,  by  recogniz- 
ing as  a  part  of  the  Christian  brotherhood  those 
who  profess  such  a  medley  of  atheism  and  idolatry. 
"  O  my  soul  !  come  not  into  their  secret  ;  to  their 
assembly,  mine  honor,  be  not  thou  united."  But  he 
undertakes  to  explain  how  persons  of  such  contra- 
dictory sentiments  may  acknowledge  one  another 
as  Christian  brethren.  And  what  is  the  solution  of 
this  difficulty  ?  Why,  nothing  but  that  Trinitarians 
should  go  over  to  Unitarianism  ;  should  admit  tliat 
they  really  do  not  believe  their  own  system,  and  if 
the  points  of  difference  retain  their  places  in  their 
written  creed,  they  be  regarded  in  fact  as  things  of 
no  manner  of  importance.  Indeed  !  And  do  all 
his  professions  of  charity  amount  to  this,  that  to 
save  their  orthodoxy,  in  his  sense  of  the  term,  he 
very  kindly  supposes  that  they  have  been  from  the 
beginning  false  witnesses,  in  testifying  what  they 
did  not  believe;  or  fools,  by  supposing  they  believed 


270  SERMONS. 


what  his  superior  discernment  has  discovered  they 
neither  could  nor  did  believe  ?  Trinitarians  have 
always  contended  for  the  doctrines  in  dispute,  not 
only  as  true,  but  indispensable  ;  not  only  as  having 
a  place  in  the  system  of  revealed  religion,  but  the 
highest  place  ;  not  only  as  connected  with  practice, 
but  inseparable  from  a  truly  Christian  life.  They 
can  not,  therefore,  meet  him  on  the  ground  he  has 
assigned  them,  without  yielding  their  claims  to 
common  honesty,  or  rejecting  the  testimony  of 
their  own  consciousness.  They  are  not  willing  to 
purchase  his  good  opinion  at  such  a  price  ;  and  if 
they  were,  he  and  his  party  would  have  little  reason 
to  congratulate  themselves  on  such  an  accession  of 
knaves  or  fools. 

II.  The  general  argument  of  the  discourse  is 
thus  stated :  '*  I  do  not  propose  to  prove  the  truth 
of  Unitarianism  by  scriptural  authorities,  for  this 
argument  would  exceed  the  limits  of  a  sermon,  but 
to  show  its  superior  tendency  to  form  an  elevated 
religious  character." 

And  how  does  Dr.  Channing  prove  his  point? 
By  taking  for  granted,  without  an  attempt  at  proof, 
that  his  notions  of  piety  are  true.  This  is  nothing 
less  than  begging  the  question  at  the  very  beginning 
of  his  argument.  By  piety  he  means,  ''  filial  love 
and  reverence  towards  God,  habitual  gratitude, 
cheerful  trust,  ready  obedience,  and  though  last, 
not  least,  an  imitation  of  the  ever-active  and  un- 
bounded  benevolence  of  the  Creator."     Now  it  is 


THE   TRUE  religion:  271 

perfectly  obvious  that  this  definition,  according  to 
the  system  of  its  author,  contains  ideas  essentially 
different  from  those  of  Trinitarians  on  the  same 
general  subject.  The  objects  of  pious  affections 
in  the  two  systems  are  contradictory;  and  con- 
sequently the  nature,  and  reasons,  and  causes  of 
piety  are  different  and  contrary.  When,  therefore, 
Dr.  Channing  has  shown  that  his  doctrines  are 
better  calculated  to  promote  piety,  according  to 
his  idea  of  it,  than  the  Trinitarian,  he  has  shown 
what  his  opponents  are  not  at  all  concerned  to  deny, 
that  Unitarianism  is  better  calculated  to  promote 
itself.  The  question,  which  of  the  two  systems  is 
the  true  one,  remains  untouched.  The  religion 
which  this  discourse  approves,  and  shows  the 
peculiar  adaptation  of  the  Unitarian  scheme  to 
promote,  not  only  excludes  everything  which  Trini- 
tarians account  most  essential  to  true  religion,  but 
it  contains  nothing  against  which  a  sober  Deist 
would  object.  In  their  schemes  there  are  a  few 
points  of  difference  :  but  as  to  their  practical  results 
on  the  characters  of  men,  they  aim  at  the  same 
thing.  A  Deist  may  adopt  fully  Dr.  Channing's 
definition  of  piety,  and  in  the  very  sense  of  its 
author;  for  they  are  agreed  respecting  the  object 
of  worship,  the  ground  of  hope,  and  the  supreme 
rule  of  faith  and  of  life  ;  in  all  of  which  they  are 
both  in  perfect  opposition  to  Trinitarians.  To  make 
the  argument  of  the  discourse  a  good  one,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  prove  that  the  author's  ideas 


272  SERMONS. 


of  religious  character  are  correct ;  that  Unitarian 
piety  is  true  piety  :  otherwise,  whatever  tendency  it 
may  be  shown  to  have  to  form  a  reh'gious  character 
of  its  own  kind,  it  proves  nothing  for  the  truth  of 
his  system.  Let  the  character  have  attained  all  the 
perfection  which  that  system  aims  to  give  it,  still, 
in  the  view  of  Trinitarians,  the  person  who  sustains 
it  is  destitute  of  genuine  religion  ;  an  alien  from 
the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  a  stranger  to  the  cove- 
nants of  promise,  without  God,  without  Christ, 
and  without  hope  in  the  world.  Whatever  might 
be  his  uprightness  and  benevolence  toward  his 
fellow-men,  and  however  tender  and  solemn  and 
spiritual  his  affections  toward  the  God  of  his  own 
mental  creation,  he  would  be  regarded  by  the  true 
God  as  an  obstinate  rebel,  who  refused  to  be  taught 
by  the  declaration  of  the  Divine  word,  any  further 
than  appeared  to  himself  reasonable  and  right ; 
who,  by  refusing  to  honor  the  Son,  even  as  the 
Father,  refused  to  honor  the  Father  that  sent  him, 
and,  by  denying  the  personality  and  divinity  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  refused  to  be  a  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  dedicated  to  his  glory  ;  who  rejected 
with  contempt  and  abhorrence  God's  plan  of  recon- 
ciliation, and  insisted  on  being  saved  in  a  way  of 
his  own,  presumptuously  trusting  on  his  mercy  with- 
out any  regard  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  justice 
or  the  honor  of  his  government,  even  turning  upon 
God  and  charging  him  with  cruelty  and  injustice 
to  his  creatures.       Until  Trinitarianism  shall    first 


THE   TRUE  RELIGION.  273 


have  been  proved  to  be  false,  a  system  which  has 
such  tendencies  as  these  can  not  be  admitted  to 
deserve  the  name  of  Christian,  much  less  that  of  the 
most  perfect  form  of  Christianity  itself. 

Dr.  Channing  also  takes  for  granted,  what  Trini- 
tarians never  did,  and  while  they  believe  their  own 
system  never  can  concede,  that  which  party  soever 
in  this  controversy  is  wrong,  their  error  is  not 
ruinous,  and  denounces  those  who  think  otherwise, 
that  is,  the  whole  body  of  Trinitarians,  as  possessing 
"  the  very  spirit  of  antichrist  "  (p.  6).  And  yet 
he  is  assured  that  all  that  is  essential  to  true 
religion  is  "  attained  and  accepted  under  all  the 
forms  of  Christianity,"  even  where  that  "worst  of 
all  the  delusions  of  popery  and  protestantism  "  is 
avowed. 

He  has  drawn  deeply  upon  the  credulity  of  his 
readers,  when  he  supposed  they  would  swallow, 
upon  the  authority  of  his  dictum,  an  absurdity  so 
gross. 

Then  may  there  be  communion  between  light 
and  darkness,  Christ  and  antichrist,  and  he  that 
believeth  and  an  infidel.  On  the  other  hand,  Trini- 
tarians believe  that  the  controversy  respects  the  very 
essentials  of  true  religion  ;  that  it  is  not  a  contest 
between  two  forms  of  genuine  Christianity,  which  is 
the  more  pure  and  efficient,  but  between  two  contra- 
dictory religions,  which  of  them  is  true  and  which 
is  false;  not  a  matter  to  be  decided  by  comparing 
different  degrees  in  things  in  the  same  kind,  but  by 


2  74  SERMONS. 


contrasting  opposites  and  then  deciding,  by  an  ap- 
proved test,  which  is  genuine  and  which  is  spurious. 
Whether  Dr.  Channing  or  his  opponents  are  correct 
on  this  point,  he  had  no  right  to  take  for  granted 
a  position  so  important  as  completely  to  shift  the 
ground  of  argument,  and  imply  a  surrender  of  the 
Trinitarian  cause  ;  for  from  that  common  religion, 
which  he  supposes  it  to  be  the  object  of  both 
systems  to  produce,  he  excludes  every  Trini- 
tarian peculiarity,  and  when  he  has  done  so  his 
own  system  remains  undisputed  master  of  the 
field. 

The  piety  which  refuses  divine  honors  to  the  Son 
and  Holy  Spirit ;  which  rejects  the  infinite  atone- 
ment of  the  one,  and  the  new  creation  to  a  holy 
life  of  the  other ;  which,  on  the  supposition  that 
God  is,  and  has  done,  what  his  own  word  unequivo- 
cally ascribes  to  him,  presumes  to  arraign  and  con- 
demn him  as  unmerciful  and  unjust — Trinitarians 
are  free  to  admit,  will  be  much  better  promoted  by 
Dr.  Channing's  system  than  by  theirs  ;  for  while 
they  retain  their  reverence  for  the  Holy  Oracles, 
such  piety  will  always  appear  to  their  solemn  view 
no  better  than  avowed  rebellion  against  the  King 
of  kings.  Dr.  Channing  had  a  right  to  choose  his 
own  ground  ;  but  if  he  had  at  command  any  num- 
ber of  scriptural  authorities  to  prove  the  truth  of 
Unitarianism,  he  might  have  a  better  iise  of  his 
discretion  than  to  set  them  aside  for  the  sake  of 
spreading  before  the  public  eye  so  base  a  sophism. 


THE   TRUE  RELIGION.  275 

Reduced  to   syllogistic   form,  his  argument   would 
stand  thus  : 

Major — That  system  which  best  promotes  piety, 
meaning  of  course,  Unitarian  piety,  is  the  true 
system. 
Minor — But  Unitarianism  is  best  calculated  to  pro- 
mote Unitarian  piety. 
Conclusion — Therefore  Unitarianism  is  the  true 
system. 

The  error,  as  has  been  shown,  is  in  the  major 
proposition,  which  takes  for  granted  the  very  point 
in  debate,  that  the  Unitarian  is  the  true  religion, 
or  that  all  that  is  essential  to  true  religion  is  held  by 
both  systems  in  common.  The  latter  assumption, 
which  makes  it  a  non-essential  whether  the  divinity 
and  atonement  of  the  Son,  and  the  divinity  and 
personality  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  with  their  corre- 
sponding doctrines,  be  believed  or  blasphemed,  is  as 
firmly  denied  by  Trinitarians  as  the  former ;  indeed 
it  amounts  to  the  same  thing  with  the  former,  for 
by  rejecting  the  essential  doctrines  of  Trinitarianism 
there  is  nothing  left  as  common  ground  but  Uni- 
tarianism itself. 

The  nine  arguments  that  follow  in  Dr.  Channing's 
discourse  are  all  in  support  of  the  minor  proposi- 
tion, that  Unitarianism  is  best  calculated  to  pro- 
mote Unitarian  piety.  Were  it  granted  that  he  had 
fairly  proved  his  point,  he  would  not  have  advanced 
by  one  hair's-breadth  towards  the  determination  of 
the, great  questions  at  issue.     His  general  argument 


276  SERMONS. 


therefore  may  be  dismissed  as  unfit  service :  but  it 
will  be  proper  to  examine  the  particular  arguments 
by  which  he  endeavors  to  prop  it. 

§  I.  *'  Unitarianism  is  a  system  most  favorable  to 
piety,  because  it  presents  to  the  mind  one,  and 
only  one,  infinite  Person,  to  whom  supreme  homage 
is  to  be  paid."  Let  it  be  remembered,  that  the 
piety  here  spoken  of  is  exclusively  Unitarian  ;  for, 
although  Dr.  Channing  told  us  (p.  8)  that  he  did 
not  regard  his  peculiar  views  as  essential  to  salva- 
tion, he  has  fairly  contradicted  himself  in  this 
argument  by  declaring  the  doctrine  of  one,  and 
only  one,  infinite  Father,  that  fundamental  truth. 
That  the  foundation  is  not  essential  to  the  building, 
is  an  idea  that  would  never  enter  the  head  of  any 
man  not  accustomed,  like  speculating  theologians, 
to  build  castles  in  the  air. 

Let  it  be  admitted  *  that  the  Unitarian  doctrine 
is  calculated  to  make  a  stronger  impression  of  itself 
upon  the  mind,  what  then?  Is  it  therefore  true? 
A  vast  chasm  must  be  filled  up  in  the  reasoning 
before  that  conclusion  shall  be  reached.  On  the 
other  hand,  Trinitarians  believe  that  no  degree 
of  impression  produced  by  the  idea  of  only  one 
Divine   Person,   to  the   exclusion   of    the   Son   and 

*  This  admission  is  made  only  for  the  sake  of  the  argument ; 
for  by  the  confession  of  the  most  eminent  Unitarian  writers,  it 
is  contradicted  by  facts.  See  Fuller's  Letters  :  "  The  Calvin- 
istic  and  Socinian  Systems  Examined  and  Compared  as  to  their 
Practical  Tendency." 


THE   TRUE  RELIGIO.V.  277 


Holy  Spirit,  amounts  to  any  true  piety  at  all.  Dr. 
Channing  can  not  advance  a  single  step  without 
begging  the  question.  All  that  can  be  said  is,  that 
the  Unitarian  is  more  religious  in  his  way  than  the 
Trinitarian.  Whose  is  the  right  way  is  still  sub 
judice. 

If  the  truth  of  things  is  to  be  determined  by  the 
strength  of  impression,  then  there  are  degrees  of 
reality ;  that  is,  it  may  be  true  that  there  is  a 
Trinit}%  for  this  doctrine  makes  some  impression 
on  Trinitarians ;  and  at  the  same  time  more  true 
that  there  is  none,  and  as  the  more  carries  it  over 
the  less,  therefore  there  is  no  Trinity.  According 
this  reasoning,  there  is  a  sun  in  summer,  but  none 
in  winter,  because  the  impression  he  makes  is 
greater  in  summer.  Again,  the  things  of  this 
world  make  a  greater  impression  of  their  reality 
upon  most  of  its  inhabitants  than  those  of  the 
world  to  come,  therefore  this  argument  proves  the 
mortal  deist  right. 

Dr.  Channing  objects  to  Trinitarianism,  that  by 
multiplying  infinite  objects  for  the  heart,  it  dis- 
tracts it ;  and  argues  that  "  to  scatter  the  attention 
among  three  equal  persons  is  to  impair  the  power 
of  each.  The  more  strict  and  absolute  the  unity 
of  God,  the  more  easily  and  intimately  all  the 
impressions  and  emotions  of  piety  flow  together, 
and  are  condensed  into  one  glowing  thought,  one 
thrilling  love."  But  if  it  be  consistent  with  "the 
principles   of  our  nature  that  the  different   i7npres- 


278  SERMONS. 


sions  and  efnotions  of  piety "  should  flow  together 
and  be  condensed  into  one  glowing  thought,  one 
thrilling  love,  why  should  it  not  be  consistent  with 
the  same  principles  that  the  different  emotions  pro- 
duced by  the  Divine  Persons  in  the  parts  they 
severally  act  in  the  work  of  our  salvation,  should 
unite  in  one  harmonious  movement  of  the  whole 
man  in  admiration,  love,  and  devoted  obedience  to 
the  Triune  God?  If  multiplying  infinite  person- 
alities in  the  one  Divine  Nature  must  **  distract " 
the  heart,  what  effect  will  it  have  to  multiply  in- 
finite attributes  in  the  one  Divine  Person?  To  be 
consistent  with  himself  in  this  argument.  Dr.  Chan- 
ning  ought  to  reject  every  infinite  attribute  but 
one;  otherwise  he  ''has  reason  to  tremble,"  lest, 
in  giving  to  God  the  honor  which  is  due  to  one  of 
these  attributes,  he  should  withhold  from  him  what 
is  due  to  another. 

§  2.  "  Unitarianism  is  the  system  most  favorable 
to  piety,  because  it  holds  forth  and  preserves  in- 
violate the  spirituality  of  God."  That  God  is  a 
Spirit,  and  that  he  has  given  us  no  visible  similitude 
of  himself,  Dr.  Channing  does  condescend  to  prove 
from  Scripture.  But  what  has  he  proved  against 
Trinitarians?  Do  they  deny  these  things,  or  say 
that  the  manhood  of  Christ  Jesus  is  an  image  of 
the  invisible  God?  They  do  not.  His  argument 
on  this  point  is  sheer  misrepresentation.  Trinita- 
rians neither  teach  nor  believe  that  the  spirituality 
of  God  is  at  all  materialized  by  the  union  of  human 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  279 

nature  to  the  Divine  in  the  person  of  Emmanuel — 
the  Word  made  flesh ;  nor  that  the  manhood  of 
Christ  is  at  all  the  object  of  worship.  Whatever 
incongruity  may  belong  to  this  subject  in  the  minds 
of  those  who  hate  the  light,  Trinitarians  find  no 
difficulty  in  distinguishing  between  the  Divine 
nature  of  the  Redeemer,  by  virtue  of  which  he  is 
"  God  over  all,  blessed  forever,"  and  therefore  the 
object  of  worship,  and  his  human  nature,  ''  made 
of  the  seed  of  David  according  to  the  flesh." 

The  Son  assumed  our  nature  for  a  different  pur- 
pose altogether  from  that  which  Dr.  Channing 
assigns.  He  "  who  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought 
it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  but  made  him- 
self of  no  reputation,  was  made  in  the  likeness  of 
men,  and  was  found  in  fashion  as  a  man  [not  to  ex- 
plain the  Divine  nature  by  the  human],  but  that  he 
might  be  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the 
cross." — Phil,  ii.,  6,  7,  8. 

After  all,  his  inference  is  only  connected  with  his 
premises  by  a  "  may  be  said,"  a  phrase  which  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Channing  himself,  (p.  39)  is  vox  et  pretci'ea 
nihil ;  all  that  it  is  employed  to  convey  "  goes  out — 
in  words."  The  resemblance  which  he  sees  between 
the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  and  ""  the  mythology  of 
the  rudest  pagans,"  if  there  be  any,  may,  for  aught 
he  knows,  be  the  resemblance  between  the  truth  and 
rudest  counterfeit.  How  a  '*  pious  Jew,  in  the  twi- 
light of  the  Mosaic  religion,"  would  have  regarded 
this  doctrine,  is  a  question  which  can  only  be  deter- 


28o  SERMOiVS. 


mined  by  the  authority  of  the  Bible,  and  this  is  a 
tribunal  to  which  Dr.  Channing  has  not  thought 
proper  to  refer  his  cause.  He  has  an  indisputable 
right,  however,  to  the  authority  of  his  allies,  the 
modern  Jews,  Mahometans,  and  Deists,  the  open 
enemies  of  the  whole  Christian  religion. 

§  3.  "  Unitarianism  is  the  system  most  favorable 
to  piety  (to  wit.  Unitarian  piety),  because  it  pre- 
sents a  distinct  and  intelligible  object  of  worship, 
a  being  whose  nature,  whilst  inexpressibly  sublime, 
is  yet  simple  and  suited  to  human  apprehension." 
Because  it  presents  the  Unitarian  idea  of  God,  there- 
fore, it  is  most  favorably  to  what  kind  of  piety? 
Evidently  Unitarian  alone.  According  to  this  argu- 
ment (which,  if  it  prove  anything,  must  do  so,  not 
through  the  stale  sophism  w^hich  has  been  exposed, 
but  by  its  direct  bearing  on  the  truth  of  religion), 
those  who  worship  gods  of  wood  and  stone,  Dagon, 
or  Vishnoo,  or  Juggernaut,  have  the  advantage  in 
distinctness  and  intelligibility  over  the  Unitarians, 
and  have  therefore  a  better  system. 

But  when  Unitarians  claim,  as  an  advantage  of 
their  system,  that  their  God  is  intelligible,  they 
strip  him  of  all  the  incommunicable  attributes  of 
divinity,  eternity,  omnipresence,  omniscience,  omni- 
potence, etc.  ;  or,  if  they  do  not  bring  him  down  to 
the  measure  of  their  necessarily  limited  conceptions, 
they  arrogantly  presume  to  grasp  infinities.  Dr. 
Channing  himself  admits  respecting  his  own  system 
(p.  40)  that  its  truths  can  not  be  fully  comprehended  ; 


THE   TRUE  religion: 


that  is,  it  is  wholly  intelligible,  but  can  be  compre- 
hended only  as  in  part.  If  this  is  not  a  contradic- 
tion, it  will  require  a  hair-splitting  distinguisher  to 
tell  the  difference.  He  admits  again,  ''  There  is  no 
object  in  nature  or  religion,  which  has  not  innumera- 
ble connections  and  relations  beyond  our  grasp  of 
thought."  And  yet  he  pretends  to  comprehend  the 
infinite  God  so  fully,  as  to  decide  peremptorily,  in  the 
face  of  the  Scriptures,  that  he  does  not  sustain  the 
relations  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  as  implied 
in  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 

The  simplicity  of  which  Unitarians  boast  is  a  very 
doubtful  evidence  of  truth.  The  ancient  physics, 
which  referred  all  matter  to  the  four  primitive  ele- 
ments, earth,  air,  fire,  and  water,  had  the  advantage 
of  simplicity  over  the  present  system,  which  reckons 
more  than  forty  primitive  substances ;  but  who  would 
stake  his  character  on  the  assertion,  that  therefore 
it  was  more  true. 

But  Dr.  Channing  pronounces  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  "  misty,  incongruous,  contradictory."  The 
first  epithet  might  have  been  spared,  inasmuch  as 
he  admits  that  the  truths  of  his  own  system  can  not 
be  fully  comprehended  ;  of  course  those  parts  of 
them  which  are  beyond  his  comprehension  must 
appear  **  misty"  even  to  his  clear  eye.  In  a  former 
part  of  this  argument,  he  was  understood  to  claim 
for  his  system  an  intelligibility  which  entirely  ex- 
cludes its  opposite ;  but  if  he  only  means  that  it  is 
partly  intelligible,  then  it  is  partly  unintelligible. 


282  SERMONS. 


Thus  has  this  champion  of  Unitarianism  admitted 
once  and  again,  with  respect  to  his  own  doctrines,  all 
that  Trinitarians  allow  in  relation  to  theirs  :  that  the 
facts  they  involve  are  to  us,  in  great  part,  incompre- 
hensible. And  so  is  everything  within  and  around 
us.  When  this  proud  objector  can  tell  us  how  a 
volition  moves  the  hand,  or  how  God  can  be  perfectly 
present  in  every  place  at  the  same  time  and  absent 
from  none,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  triumph  over 
Trinitarians,  who  do  not  pretend  to  know  more,  and 
who  are  not  willing  to  know  less,  respecting  the 
most  incomprehensible  of  all  beings,  the  self-existent 
Source  of  all  other  beings,  than  he  has  thought  fit 
to  reveal. 

If  this  then  be  a  mere  question  of  degrees,  the 
Trinitarian  system  has  the  advantage,  for  it  fills  a 
much  greater  sphere  in  the  world  of  religious  truth. 
And  if  it  has  more  dark  places,  it  has  many  more 
bright  ones,  for  there  is  something  knowable  in  its 
every  doctrine,  even  the  most  mysterious. 

Bat  the  heaviest  charge  against  the  Trinity  is  that 
it  is  contradictory.  This  is  the  Unitarian  Achilles, 
who  is  to  be  seen  foaming  and  raging  on  almost 
every  point  of  the  field  of  battle.  But  he  is  not 
quite  invulnerable. 

It  has  been  seen,  and  conceded  on  all  hands,  that 
our  knowledge  on  every  subject  is  imperfect ;  that 
we  must  reach  sooner  or  later  a  lie  plus  ultra  to  the 
operation  of  our  minds.  This  contradiction  then, 
if  it  exist,  must  be  found  within  the  limits  of  our 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  283 

knowledge,  or  in  the  region  of  inscrutable  things. 
In  the  latter  division,  the  contradiction  must  either 
be  taken  for  granted,  or  given  up  ;  for  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  prove  that  it  does  or  does  not  exist — and  for 
this  plain  reason  :  we  know  nothing  about  the  sub- 
ject. It  is  necessary  to  have  accurate  and  adequate 
conceptions  of  the  terms  in  a  proportion  to  de- 
termine whether  they  agree  or  are  opposed  to  each 
other.  But  in  this  department  we  have  no  positive 
ideas  at  all.  The  debate,  then,  is  narrowed  withfn 
the  bounds  of  our  knowledge.  What,  then,  do  we 
know  of  the  Trinity  which  involves  a  contradiction  ? 
We  know  from  the  Scriptures  that  there  is  but 
one  God,  possessing  all  possible  perfection  and 
glory.  We  also  know  that  in  this  one  God  there  is 
a  plurality.  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  sustaining 
different  relations  among  themselves  and  towards 
men,  wliich  in  a  sense  of  approximation,  not  of  accu- 
rate description,  we  call  persons,  because  personal 
attributes  and  acts  are  ascribed  to  them.  Now, 
what  contradiction  is  here  ?  There  is  none  in  the 
terms.  We  do  not  say  that  three  Gods  are  one  God, 
or  three  persons  are  one  person,  or  that  God  is  three 
in  the  same  sense  that  he  is  one.  Nor  is  there  any  in 
the  ideas.  When  we  say  that  the  Father  is  God,  and 
the  Son  is  God,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  God,  we  do 
not  mean  that  they  are  separate  and  distinct  divini- 
ties, but  that  each  of  them  possesses,  in  common 
with  others,  the  nature,  and  attributes,  and  glory  of 
God.     Do  you  ask  how  can  these  things  be.^     We 


284  SERMONS. 


answer — the  facts  only  are  revealed,  and  therefore 
known  ;  the  mode  is  not,  and  is  therefore  among  the 
secret'  things  which  belong  unto  the  Lord.  But  it 
is  said,  this  God  is  "  a  strange  being  unlike  our  own 
minds."  He  would  not  be  the  God  of  the  Scriptures 
if  he  were  not,  in  many  respects,  unlike  his  creatures. 
To  deny  this,  is  to  take  away  the  principal  reason 
against  image-worship.  Besides,  what  is  there  in 
our  own  minds  like  self-existence,  omniscience,  or 
any  other  incommunicable  perfection  of  God  ?  Will 
Dr.  Channing  deny  these  because  he  can  not  find 
anything  like  them  in  created  minds?  And  so  this 
vaunted  argument  turns  out  to  be  a  mere  unsup- 
ported assertion. 

The  error  in  this  objection  originates  in  the  pov- 
erty of  language,  and  men's  not  "  refining  their  con- 
ceptions of  the  personalities  and  unity  of  God, 
separating  from  him  whatever  is  limited  and  imper- 
fect," in  the  ideas  conveyed  by  these  terms  in  their 
application  to  God.  Hence,  when  they  apply  to 
him  their  gross  and  limited  ideas  of  person,  derived 
from  themselves  and  the  creatures  around  them, 
without  correcting  their  conceptions  by  what  is 
peculiar  to  the  Divine  Being,  the  unity  is  contra- 
dicted. And  what  is  this  peculiarity?  Why,  that 
these  personalities  are  of  such  a  kind  as  to  consist 
with  the  unity  of  God.  An  angel  might  have  said 
at  the  creation  of  man,  that  the  unity  of  his  person 
and  the  plurality  of  his  natures  was  a  contradiction, 
because  he  had  never  known  unity  of  person  before 


THE   TRUE  religion:  285 

to  consist  with  more  than  one  nature,  with  as  much 
reason  as  men  now  account  the  unity  of  God  con- 
tradicted by  the  pkirality  of  persons  because  they 
have  never  known  unity  of  nature  to  consist  with 
more  than  one  person.  The  only  difference  would 
have  been,  that  the  angel  called  that  a  contradiction 
which  he  could  not  deny  to  be  a  fact ;  rational 
Christians  contradict  the  testimony  of  God. 

They  would  contradict  themselves,  were  they  to 
apply  the  same  rule  of  reasoning  to  the  attributes 
which  themselves  acknowledge.  Ask  a  Unitarian 
why  he  believes  that  God  is  omnipresent  and  eter- 
nal? He  will  tell  you,  because  the  evidence  of  the 
fact  is  conclusive.  For  the  same  general  reason  we 
believe  the  Trinity.  Ask  him  again  :  "  Do  you 
fully  comprehend  these  facts?  Can  your  mind 
grasp  the  whole  idea  of  an  Infinite  Being?  He  will 
answer,  No.  Pursue  your  inquiries  :  "  Can  you  ap- 
ply your  limited  and  inadequate  ideas  to  God,  and 
reason  from  them,  without  contradicting  his  bound- 
less nature  and  attributes?"  If  he  is  not  willing  to 
give  a  negative  to  this  question,  it  can  easily  be 
proved  that  he  ought.  Let  any  one  try  the  force 
of  his  mind  in  comprehending  infinite  duration,  and 
he  will  soon  find  that  his  utmost  stretch  of  thought 
is  made  up  of  limited  portions  of  duration,  which 
must  always  fall  infinitely  short  of  eternity.  Let 
him  apply  his  ideas  of  eternity  to  the  life-time  of 
the  Almighty,  and,  measuring  backward  in  eternity 
past,  he  will  come  to  a  point  where  God  was  not ; 


286  SERMONS. 


and  forwards,  in  eternity  to  come,  he  will  reach  a 
period  where  the  Eternal  will  cease  to  be. 

By  the  absurdity  of  such  reasoning  in  this  case,  we 
may  see  it  in  every  other.  And  the  same  rule  of 
right  reasoning,  which  removes  contradiction  from 
the  doctrine  of  the  attributes,  will  clear  it  away 
from  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 

4.  ''  Unitarianism  promotes  a  fervent  and  enlight- 
ened piety,  by  asserting  the  absolute  and  unbounded 
perfection  of  God's  character."  In  this  argument 
Dr.  Channing  proceeds  to  reason  in  the  same  un- 
philosophical  manner  as  has  been  exposed  in  the 
former.  He  will  persist  in  attaching  precisely  the 
same  ideas  of  person  to  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit,  as  he  is  in  the  habit  of  attaching  to  limited 
beings.  Hence  he  brings  up  again  the  misrepre- 
sentation that  Trinitarians  believe  in  three  different 
Gods.  Now,  this  manner  of  reasoning  on  things 
too  high  for  us,  as  is  everything  peculiar  to  God,  is 
utterly  inconsistent  with  the  modesty  of  true 
science,  and,  if  carried  out  to  its  legitimate  results, 
will  not  stop  short  of  blank  atheism  or  gross  idol- 
atry. 

Try  it  on  the  omnipresence  of  God.  We  have  no 
ideas  of  the  presence  of  an  agent,  without  confining 
him  to  the  sphere  of  his  operations,  and  excluding 
him  from  all  other  space.  What  positive  concep- 
tion can  you  form,  then,  of  his  presence  in  every 
point  of  space,  without  restoring  the  pagan  mythol- 
ogy, and  peopling  the   universe  with  innumerable 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  287 

multitudes  of  gods?  Or  if  you  chose  to  conceive 
of  it  as  an  extended  substance,  filling  all  space,  al- 
though that  conception  no  creature  can  adequately 
form,  yet  still  on  that  supposition  you  must,  by  ex- 
tending, divide  and  weaken  your  God  ;  so  that  only 
a  part  of  his  being,  and  a  limited  knowledge  and 
power,  can  be  exercised  in  any  particular  place,  or 
you  invest  every  point  in  this  boundless  extension 
with  every  other  attribute  of  God. 

This  wily  reasoner  brings  into  play  the  two  great 
instruments  of  his  art — begging  the  question,  and 
changing  the  ground  of  argument.  He  takes  for 
granted,  that  the  distinction  of  persons  in  the  one 
God  is  a  nullity;  and  then,  supposing  that  God  is 
one  person,  he  infers  that  to  add  to  him  any  other 
persons  is  superfluous,  or  derogates  from  his  glory, 
by  dividing  it  with  him  :  whereas  the  very  point  in 
dispute  is,  whether  there  are  in  the  one  God  three 
equal  and  undivided  persons,  each  of  whom  pos- 
sesses, not  separately  and  exclusively,  but  in  com- 
mon with  the  others,  the  attributes  of  divinity. 
The  Trinitarian  system  does  present  one  grand  and 
glorious  object  of  worship — the  One  Jehovah, 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit — with  the  inexpressi- 
ble advantage  over  the  Unitarian,  that  all  the  moral 
attributes  of  God  are  displayed  in  a  glorious  har- 
mony :  whilst  in  that  of  the  Unitarian,  his  holiness, 
justice,  and  truth  are  outraged,  to  make  way  for  his 
mercy.  Nay  more ;  with  all  its  vaporing,  the 
Unitarian  scheme  strips  the  character  of  God  even 


288  SERMONS. 


of  the  attribute  of  mercy  ;  for  if  it  be  not  right  to 
punish  the  transgressor,  his  impunity  is  a  matter  of 
debt. 

Dr.  Channing  does  Calvinism  the  honor  of  mak- 
ing it  the  object  of  his  bitterest  hate.  To  be  singled 
out  from  among  all  the  battalions  of  the  grand 
army  of  Emmanuel,  as  the  worthiest  mark  for  his 
heaviest  artillery,  is  a  strong  testimony  from  the 
common  enemy  that  their  mode  of  warfare  is  the 
most  galling,  or  that  the  positions  they  occupy  are 
the  most  dangerous  to  his  cause. 

§  5.  **  Unitarianism  is  peculiarly  favorable  to 
piety,  because  it  accords  with  nature,  with  the 
world  around  and  the  world  within  us."  As  Trini- 
tarians derive  their  doctrine  from  revelation  alone, 
they  are  not  concerned  to  prove  that  it  is  taught 
by  nature :  they  are  not  willing  to  admit  that  reve- 
lation can  not  go  beyond  the  sphere  of  nature,  and 
teach  us  what  else  we  had  never  known.  To  grant 
this,  would  be  to  meet  the  Deists  more  than  half- 
way ;  it  would  be  to  own  that  revelation  is  not 
necessary.  Nature,  however,  gives  no  evidence 
against  the  Trinity.  All  the  unity  of  design  which 
it  exhibits  proves  no  more  than  the  unity  of  coun- 
sel, operation,  and  nature  of  the  Triune  God. 
"Trinitarianism,"  he  says, '' is  a  confused  system, 
shut  up  in  a  few  texts,"  '*  and  those  so  dark,  that 
the  gifted  minds  of  Milton,  Newton,  and  Locke 
could  not  find  it  there."  If  it  had  been  revealed 
but  once  or  twice,  that  were  enough  to  satisfy  any 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  289 

who  are  not  too  wise  to  be  taught  of  God.  But 
in  truth  these  texts  are  neither  few  nor  dark :  they 
stud  the  firmament  of  revelation,  like  stars  for 
number  and  for  brightness.  Instead  of  escaping 
the  perception  of  such  gifted  minds  as  those  of 
Milton,  Newton,  and  Locke,  any  man  of  common 
understanding  must  be  grossly  ignorant,  or  willfully 
blind,  who  does  not  see  in  them  these  first  princi- 
ples of  the  oracles  of  God.  If  those  distinguished 
men,  by  the  authority  of  whose  names  Dr.  Chan- 
ning  would  support  his  cause,  were,  as  he  insin- 
uates. Unitarian  in  their  sentiments,  then  they 
were  destitute  of  common  honesty,  for  they  lived 
and  died  in  the  communion  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land,"^ one  of  the  most  prominent  defenders  of  the 
Trinitarian  doctrines. 

Those  who  are  so  defective  in  the  moral  quali- 
fications of  good  witnesses  are  not  much  to  be 
relied  on,  however  great  their  intellectual  strength. 
Such  gross  hypocrites  are  no  advantage  to  any 
cause  but  that  of  wickedness ;  else  Satan  himself 
may  be  an  honor  to  the  cause  he  espouses,  when 
he  chooses  to  appear  as  an  angel  of  light,  for  in 

*  To  this  remark  Milton  is  an  exception.  He  was  no  churoh- 
man  ;  but  it  appears  "  he  was  not  tainted  with  an  heretical 
peculiarity  of  sentiment  "  while  he  lived,  nor  when  Johnson 
wrote  the  Lives  of  the  Poets.  The  posthumous  work  lately 
ascribed  to  him,  if  authentic,  is  at  variance  with  his  acknowl- 
edged writings,  and  only  proves  his  authority  to  be  nothing 
worth. 


290  SERMONS. 


intellect  he  surpasses  them,  and  his  moral  charac- 
ter is  the  antitype  of  theirs.  Unitarians  ought  to 
have  good  evidence  for  assertions  which  involve  so 
heavy  a  charge  against  men  whose  characters  have 
come  down  to  posterity  with  honor.  How  much 
credit  is  due  to  such  assertions,  may  be  seen  by 
contrasting  them  with  their  own  writings  and  their 
history.  In  showing  how  little  reason  Unitarians 
have  to  plume  themselves  on  the  authority  of  these 
great  names,  Trinitarians  do  not  stake  their  cause 
on  any  human  authority:  their  faith  stands  not  in 
the  wisdom  of  men,  but  of  God. 

Milton,  in  his  Paradise  Lost,  thus  sublimely 
sings : 

"  Because  thou  hast,  though  throned  in  highest  bliss, 
Equal  to  God,  and  equally  enjoying 
Godlike  fruition." 

******* 

"  Here  shalt  thou  incarnate  ;  here  shalt  reign 
Both  God  and  man,  Son  both  of  God  and  man  !  " 

—Book  III. 

Locke  in  his  Paraphrase  on  I  Cor.  x.  9,  thus 
writes:  **  Neither  let  us  provoke  Christ,  as  some 
of  them  provoked,  and  were  destroyed  by  ser- 
pents."— chap,  xii.,  ver.  11.,  *' All  which  gifts  are 
wrought  in  believers  by  one  and  the  same  Spirit,  dis- 
tributing to  every  one  in  particular  as  he  thinks  fit," 
compared  with  verse  6:  *'  It  is  the  same  God  that 
works  all  these  extraordinary  gifts  in  every  one  that 
has  them."     Note   on  verse  10  :     *' Prophecy  com- 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  291 

prehends  these  three  things:  prediction,  singing  by 
the  dictate  of  the  Spirit  and  understanding,  and  ex- 
plaining the  mysterious  hidden  sense  of  Scripture, 
by  an  immediate  illumination  and  motion  of  the 
Spirit." 

Note  on  Romans,  chap,  i,  ver.  4  :  "  According  to 
the  spirit  of  holiness,  is  here  manifestly  opposed  to, 
according  to  the  flesh,  in  the  foregoing  verse  ;  and 
so  must  mean  that  pure  and  spiritual  part  in  him, 
which  by  divine  extraction  he  had  immediately  from 
God." 

These  quotations  prove  that  their  authors  had 
seen  somewhere  the  doctrines  of  the  divinity  and 
two  natures  of  Christ,  and  the  personality  and 
divinity  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  How  desperate  the 
cause  which  forces  its  defenders  to  exhume  the 
illustrious  dead,  and  suborn  them  to  give  testimony 
in  favor  of  Unitarianism,  in  direct  contradiction  to 
their  writings  when  alive.  Nay,  the  very  day  be- 
fore Locke  died,  "  he  very  particularly  exhorted  all 
about  him  to  read  the  holy  Scriptures,  exalting  the 
love  of  God  shown  to  man  in  justifying  him  by  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ ;  and  returning  him  special  thanks 
for  having  called  him  to  the  knowledge  of  that 
Divine  Saviour." — [Simpson's  Plea. 

Of  Newton  it  is  stated  [Nich.  Enc.  Brit.]  :  "  He 
was  firmly  attached  to  the  Church  of  England, 
and  that  book  which  he  studied  with  the  greatest 
application  was  the  Bible."  Does  this  look  like 
Unitarianism. 


292  SERMONS. 


§  6.  "■  Unitarianism  favors  piety,  by  opening  the 
mind  to  new  and  ever  enlarging  views  of  God." 

Dr.  Channing's  positions  on  this  subject  rest  on 
his  own  unsupported  assertions.  It  has  not  been 
and  can  not  be  shown,  that  any  one  legitimate 
deduction  of  reason,  drawn  from  the  works  of 
creation  and  providence,  contravenes  any  one  Trini- 
tarian peculiarity.  As  far  as  the  testimony  of  crea- 
tion and  providence  goes,  it  corroborates  the  Trini- 
tarian doctrines.  When  these  deponents  close  their 
evidence,  and  revelation  speaks  alone,  he  who  will 
not  believe  its  witness,  makes  God  a  liar.  The 
greatest  liar  in  the  community  will  be  believed, 
when  he  testifies  what  is  known  from  other  sources 
to  be  true.  Here  then  is  the  precise  point  of  dif- 
ference between  us :  Trinitarians  receive  the  Scrip- 
tures as  the  highest,  clearest,  conclusive  evidence  on 
the  great  subjects  of  religion  ;  Unitarians  condescend 
to  receive  them  when  their  reason  testifies  the  same 
things  ;  but  whenever  there  is  an  appearance  of  con- 
trariety, they  utterly  refuse  to  submit  to  the  declar- 
ations of  the  Word  of  God,  however  clear  and  un- 
equivocal. What  do  they  more  than  Deists  or 
Atheists  themselves? 

It  is  not  true,  that  Trinitarianism  disinclines  the 
mind  to  bright  and  enlarged  views  of  God's  works. 
These  works  lose  none  of  their  interest  and  glory  to 
the  pious  Trinitarian,  whose  mind  is  possessed  with 
the  delightful  persuasion,  that  he  who  garnished  the 
heavens  with  beauty  is  his  Redeemer  from  eternal 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  293 

death.  Never  does  this  world  appear  in  such  a 
radiancy  as  when  viewed  as  the  theater  on  which 
were  exhibited  the  wonders  of  redeeming  mercy, 
which  things  the  angels  desire  to  look  into. 

The  Trinity,  Incarnation,  and  Substitution,  it  is 
objected,  are  doctrines  "  different  from  the  teaching 
of  the  Universe."  The  man  who  never  passed  the 
boundaries  of  his  native  land  knows  nothing,  either 
by  sense  or  reason,  of  any  other  countries.  He 
would  act  like  a  Unitarian,  were  he  to  refuse  infor- 
mation derived  from  the  testimony  of  others,  but 
what  would  become  of  the  enlargement  of  his  views 
of  the  works  of  creation  ? 

Dr.  Channing  says  that  "  God's  vicegerent  in  the 
human  soul  pronounces  it  a  crime  to  lay  the  penal- 
ties of  vice  on  the  pure  and  unoffending."  This  vice- 
gerent must  be  rightly  informed,  or  it  will  be  a  blind 
leader  of  the  blind.  Paul  verily  thought  that  he 
ought  to  do  many  things  contrary  to  the  name  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  The  objection  to  the  vicarious 
sufferings  of  Christ  either  changes  the  ground  of 
argument,  or  begs  the  question.  If  by  the  unoffend- 
ing is  meant  a  person  noway  connected  or  identified 
in  law  with  the  original  offender,  this  is  an  entirely 
different  question  from  the  one  in  debate.  In 
this  sense  it  is  wrong  to  punish  the  unoffending  in- 
stead of  the  guilty.  But  if  by  the  unoffending  is 
meant  one  who,  although  originally  clear,  voluntar- 
ily assumes  the  obligations  of  another,  or  on  whom, 
by  the  authority  of  God,  his  obligations  are  laid,  it  is 


294  SERMONS. 


a  mere  gratuitous  assumption  to  say  that  it  is  a 
crime  to  lay  upon  him,  who  is  thus  representatively 
guilty,  the  penalties  of  the  original  offender.  This 
assertion  condemns  and  contradicts  the  dispensations 
of  Providence  towards  all  communities.  *'  Quidquid 
delirant  reges  plectuntur  achivi  ":  Rulers  rave,  and 
the  people  suffer  for  it.  David  numbers  the  people, 
and  the  nation  of  Israel  is  visited  with  the  pesti- 
lence. It  is  at  war  with  an  approved  principle  of 
civil  society :  One  man,  originally  free,  becomes 
surety  for  another,  and  is  justly  held  accountable 
for  his  debts. 

Trinitarianism  is  charged  with  throwing  a  gloom 
over  God's  works,  aggravating  the  miseries  of  life, 
and  exaggerating  the  sins  of  man.  This  represen- 
tation supposes  that  the  doctrines  of  man's  depravity 
and  guilt  by  nature,  are  not  true.  If  those  doctrines 
are  true,  as  reason  and  Scripture  both  declare,  it  will 
be  hard  to  give  a  picture  of  the  condition  of  man  by 
nature,  more  deeply  shaded  than  the  truth.  The 
wretch  in  whose  veins  a  deadly  poison  rankles  has 
much  reason  for  gloom  until  he  finds  an  antidote. 
The  culprit  under  sentence  of  death  for  his  crimes 
can  find  little  enjoyment  in  the  beauties  of  creation, 
until  he  obtains  a  pardon. 

Who,  then,  is  the  real  friend  of  man  ?  he  who 
would  show  him  his  awful  condition,  and  warn  him 
of  his  danger,  that  he  might  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come ;  or  he  would  persuade  him  that  his  condition 
is  comfortable,  though  he  never  experienced  the  re- 


THE  TRUE  RELIGIOJV.  295 

newing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  there  is  no  dan- 
ger, though  he  never  obtained  redemption  through 
the  blood  of  Christ  ? 

As  these  are  fundamental  doctrines  in  this  contro- 
versy. Dr.  Channing  has  alluded  to  some  features  in 
the  character  and  condition  of  man,  calculated  to  dis- 
credit them,  as  he  supposes,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 
Men  may,  through  the  influence  of  habit  derived  from 
a  truly  Christian  stock,  of  education,  a  happy  consti- 
tutional temperament,  and  self-love,  possess  and  ex- 
hibit many  of  the  virtues  which  are  the  stability  and 
ornament  of  society,  and  at  the  same  time  be  utterly 
destitute  of  those  affections,  and  that  obedience  to- 
ward God,  which  are  the  soul  of  piety.  Although 
no  man  deserves  to  be  accounted  truly  religious, 
who  does  not  exemplify  in  his  daily  walk  that  mor- 
ality which  is  current  and  highly  esteemed  among 
men :  yet  he  may  attract  the  confidence  of  men  by 
his  uprightness  and  truth,  and  win  their  love  by  his 
kind  and  gentle  deportment,  while  God  is  not  in 
all  his  thoughts,  and  in  his  heart,  he  says  to  his 
Maker :  "  Depart  from  me,  for  I  desire  not  the 
knowledge  of  thy  ways."  The  fear  and  the  love  of 
God  may  be  unknown,  as  principles  of  his  conduct ; 
Jehovah  may  be  dethroned  from  the  dominion  of 
his  heart,  and  the  idol  mammon,  or  false  honor,  or 
fleshly  delights,  impiously  exalted  and  most  de- 
voutly worshiped  and  served  in  his  place.  Sup- 
pose a  family  of  children,  affectionately  attentive  to 
each  other's  comfort,  and  living  in    harmony  and 


296  SERMON'S. 


mutual  good  offices,  whilst  with  one  consent  they 
were  deaf  to  the  voice  of  parental  authority,  and 
utterly  destitute  of  love  to  the  father  that  begat 
them,  and  watched  over  them,  and  provided  for 
them,  and  supplied  them  with  those  enjo3^ments 
with  which  they  were  daily  regaling  themselves  and 
each  other  ;  would  not  the  common  sense  of  man- 
kind pronounce  them  dead  to  the  duties  of  piety  ? 
Would  it  not,  with  all  their  kindness  to  each  other, 
pronounce  them  a  company  of  vile  ingrates,  not  fit 
to  live  ?  Apply  this  illustration,  which  is  far  more 
favorable  to  Unitarian  views  than  the  real  case,  to 
the  conduct  of  men  in  relation  to  their  Creator,  and 
it  will  convict  them  of  rebellion  against  the  author- 
ity of  God — an  entire  want  of  love  to  him,  and  re- 
gard to  his  glory,  and  gratitude  for  his  benefit  ;  and 
whenever  his  authority  and  his  claims  cross  their 
inclinations,  their  hearts  rise  in  positive  enmity 
against  him.  And  does  not  such  a  total  dereliction 
of  moral  principle  in  their  treatment  of  God  himself 
prove  the  human  race  awfully  depraved,  and  dead  in 
sin  ?  Now,  that  men  are  by  nature  alienated  from 
the  life  of  God  is  evident  from  the  history  of  the 
world.  Except  those  parts  which  have  been  illumi- 
nated by  a  revelation  from  heaven,  darkness  covers 
the  earth  and  gross  darkness  the  people.  Idolatry 
and  atheism,  in  various  forms,  have  divided  the 
world  between  them  :  and  even  in  Christian  countries 
with  respect  to  most  of  their  inhabitants,  the  light 
shineth  in   darkness,  and  the  darkness  receiveth  it 


THE  TRUE  religion:  297 

not.  They  live  as  habitually  indifferent  to  God  ; 
as  satisfied  in  the  entire  absence  of  all  fellowship 
with  him,  as  if  he  were  what  an  apostle  calls  the 
idols  of  the  heathen,  a  "  nothing  in  the  world." 
Even  those  who  have  received  the  truth  in  the  love 
of  it,  are  decided  witnesses  of  human  depravity. 
They  have  all  been  brought  from  darkness  to  light 
and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God  ;  and  they 
still  see  in  themselves  so  much  of  opposition  to  the 
will  of  God,  as  keeps  alive  the  humbling  convic- 
tion, that  '*  in  them  that  is  in  their  flesh  (or  nature 
as  far  as  yet  unrenewed  by  the  Divine  Spirit), 
dwelleth  no  good  thing."  Indeed,  so  complete  and 
overwhelming  is  the  proof  on  this  point,  that  there 
is  not  the  slightest  set-off  against  it. 

To  counterbalance  the  worship  of  the  sun  and 
moon,  of  deified  men, 

"  Gods  partial,  changeful,  passionate,  unjust, 
Whose  attributes  were  rage,  revenge,  and  lust," 

infidelity  can  not  produce  a  solitary  instance  of  a 
human  being,  save  the  worshipers  of  the  God  of 
the  Bible,  who  answered  the  end  of  his  existence, 
made  the  will  of  the  true  God  the  rule  of  his  life, 
the  glory  of  God  his  end,  and  the  enjoyment  of  the 
Divine  favor  and  fellowship  the  chief  good  of  his 
existence. 

Even  Socrates,  the  boast  of  heathen  antiquity, 
denied,  on  his  trial,  that  he  was  opposed  to  the 
worship  of  the  gods   of  his  country  :    and   the   last 


298  SERMONS. 


act  of  his  life  was  an  act  of  idolatry. "^  And  the 
present  state  of  the  world,  in  lands  not  Christian,  is 
no  better  than  the  former.  Superstition,  idolatry, 
impiety,  and  practical  if  not  avowed  atheism, 
have  spread  their  baleful  influence  over  every  land. 
To  every  individual  among  them,  Jehovah  is  an  un- 
known God,  save  that  the  ambassadors  of  Christ 
have  been  made  the  honored  instruments  of  turn- 
ing some  of  them  from  their  dumb  idols  to  serve 
the  living  God.  Those  very  men  themselves,  who 
deny  this  doctrine,  and  abuse  its  propagators  as 
slanderers  of  human  nature,  notwithstanding  they 
live  in  the  full  blaze  of  gospel  light,  do  give  in  their 
own  conduct  confirmation  of  the  truth,  only  less 
strong  than  proof  from  Holy  Writ.  They  are  en- 
deavoring with  all  their  ingenuity  and  might  to 
put  out  the  light  of  the  world — to  exterminate  the 
religion  of  the  Bible.  While  one  party  are  opening 
their  battery  upon  the  outworks,  another,  under 
cover  of  friendship,  are  undermining  the  citadel. 
Whilst  one  is  impudently  engaged  in  spreading 
open  infidelity,  the  other,  pretending  Christianity, 
is  diligently  endeavoring  to  divest  our  holy  religion 
of  its  life  and  its  glory. 

But  if  innumerable  and  indisputable  facts  in  the 
history  of  man  in  every  age,  not  only  in  the  regions 
of  barbarism,  but  where  taste  and  literature  and 
science  have  shed   their   brightest   beams,   convict 

*Rollin's  Ancient  History,  book  ix.,  chap.  4. 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  299 

Unitarian  infidelity  of  error,  even  on  the  most 
favorable  position,  that  men  were  not  naturally  and 
originally  disposed  to  wrong  each  other — what  shall 
we  say,  seeing  in  truth  they  are  disposed  to  wrong 
each  other  as  well  as  God  ;  to  violate  the  duties  of 
the  second  table  of  the  law  as  well  as  the  first. 
How  little  does  the  history  of  the  world  contain 
besides  a  detail  of  its  crimes  !  Injustice,  perfidy, 
murder,  cruelty,  and  oppression  blacken  almost 
every  page.  Whence  come  the  wars  and  fightings 
which  have,  in  every  age,  set  man  against  his 
brother,  and  turned  our  earth  into  a  field  of  blood  ? 
Come  they  not  hence  even  of  their  lusts  ?  On  this 
subject  let  us  hear  the  account  of  Paul  :  not  that  it 
is  supposed  the  authority  of  an  apostle  will  have 
any  weight  with  those  who  are  previously  deter- 
mined not  to  submit  to  his  decision  ;  but  because 
he  presents,  on  the  veracity  of  a  witness  quite  un- 
impeachable, a  clear  and  comprehensive  view  of 
the  universal  depravity  of  men,  and  traces  its  his- 
tory from  the  beginning.  Rom.  i.,  28-32:  ''As 
they  did  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge, 
God  gave  them  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  to  do 
those  things  which  are  not  convenient :  being  filled 
\vith  all  unrighteousness,  fornication,  wickedness, 
covetousness,  maliciousness;  full  of  envy,  murder, 
debate,  deceit,  malignity ;  whisperers,  backbiters, 
haters  of  God,  despiteful,  proud,  boasters,  inven- 
tors of  evil  things,  disobedient  to  parents,  without 
understanding,   covenant-breakers,  without  natural 


300  SEI^MOiV 


affection,  implacable,  unmerciful :  who,  knowing 
the  judgment  of  God,  that  they  which  commit  such 
things  are  worthy  of  death  ;  not  only  do  the  same, 
but  have  pleasure  in  them  that  do  them." 

Unless  in  those  places  where  the  influence  of 
Christianity  has  elevated  the  tone  of  general  morals, 
purged  away  the  grossness  and  smoothed  the  as- 
perity of  the  natural  man,  his  inbred  corruption 
breaks  out  in  every  species  of  abomination  and 
crime.  More  than  three-fourths  of  the  world  are 
at  this  moment  sunk  in  idolatry,  superstition,  and 
all  their  attendant  evils:  and  even  in  Christian 
countries,  what  an  array  of  laws,  and  judgment- 
seats,  and  prisons,  and  penitentiaries,  and  gibbets, 
is  necessary  to  restrain  this  depravity  from  sweep- 
ing, with  hideous  desolation,  over  the  land. 

The  natural  evils  to  which  man  is  subjected 
prove  him  a  sinner,  and  that  not  in  some  exempt 
cases  only,  but  universally.  "  Death  passed  upon  all 
men,  for  that  all  have  sinned,"  is  not  only  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Bible,  but  of  right  reason.  No  other 
credible  account  can  be  given  of  the  fact,  that  man 
is  born  to  trouble  as  the  sparks  that  fly  upward  ;  that 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  in  every  stage  of  his 
existence,  he  endures  af^ictions  till  Death,  the  king 
of  terrors,  closes  the  scene !  If  a  deadly  taint  of 
corruption  have  not  pervaded  the  mass  of  human- 
kind, why  do  the  innocent  suffer?  It  is  not  re- 
quired by  the  justice  of  God,  but  forbidden  by  it ; 
for  to  inflict  unmerited  pain  is  the  very  essence  of 


THE   TRUE  RELIGION-.  30 1 

injustice.  It  can  do  no  good  to  those  intelligences 
who  look  into  the  Divine  administration  of  human 
affairs ;  for  it  confounds  the  distinction  between 
good  and  evil,  by  treating  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked  alike.  And  surely  it  is  the  reverse  of  good- 
ness to  inflict  unnecessary  misery  on  an  innocent 
creature.  It  does  not  blunt  the  edge  of  this  aro-u- 
ment  to  say  that  God  can  make  up  in  another 
Avorld  for  all  the  evil  he  inflicts  upon  the  innocent 
in  this  ;  for  this  makes  the  happiness  of  heaven  a 
debt  to  them,  and  not  a  gift,  and  exhibits  the  God 
of  glory  making  reparation  to  his  own  creatures  for 
the  injury  he  has  done  them.  An  error  here  is 
ruinous,  for  none  will  apply  for  the  salvation  re- 
vealed in  the  Scriptures,  until  he  is  persuaded  that 
he  needs  it.  He  must  be  sensible  of  his  bondage, 
before  he  will  implore  the  aid  of  the  Redeemer ;  he 
must  feel  his  sickness,  ere  he  will  apply  to  the 
Physician  of  souls.  There  is  a  quackery  in  theol- 
ogy as  well  as  in  physic,  which  Trinitarians  care- 
fully avoid.  Their  theology  obscures  none  of  the 
tokens  of  God's  love  within  and  around  us ;  but 
would  first  restore  man's  nature  to  such  a  healthful 
state  as  would  fit  it  for  enjoyment,  and  secure  his 
redemption  of  the  forfeited  title  to  an  heirship  of 
all  things  present  and  to  come. 

§  7.  "  Unitarianism  promotes  piety,  by  the  high 
place  which  it  assigns  to  piety  in  the  character  and 
work  of  Jesus  Christ." 

"  He  was  devoted   to  the   Father's   will,    and  Is 


302  SERMONS. 


therefore  a  good  example.      His  office  is  to  reveal 
the  Father." 

The  influence  of  the  example  of  Christ  is  claimed 
by  the  Trinitarians  on  surely  as  good  grounds  as  the 
Unitarians  can  urge,  one  of  whose  distinguished 
writers  "  declares  :  "  The  Unitarian  doctrine  is,  that 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  a  man,  constituted  in  all  re- 
spects like  other  men  ;  subject  to  the  same  infirm- 
ities, the  same  ignorance,  prejudices,  and  frailties." 
Why  such  a  man,  or  any  mere  man,  should  occupy 
a  higher  place  than  the  angels  that  kept  their  first 
estate, — that  excel  in  might,  that  do  God's  will, 
hearkening  to  the  voice  of  his  word, — it  remains  for 
Unitarians  to  explain.  Indeed,  if  the  sufferings  of 
Christ  do  not  include  the  wrath  of  God  due  to  our 
sins,  when  he  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the 
law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us,  no  reason  can  be  as- 
signed why  the  order  of  precedency  should  not  be 
reversed,  and  Stephen,  and  thousands  of  his  other 
followers,  occupy  a  higher  place  in  the  hearts  of 
Christians  than  he  by  whose  name  they  are  called  ; 
for,  on  the  Unitarian  supposition  that  the  cup 
which  the  Father  put  into  his  hand  contained  in 
it  nothing  of  the  horrors  of  that  death  which  was 
the  wages  of  our  sin,  in  the  prospect  of  which  his 
nature  recoiled,  and  in  the  endurance  of  which  he 
uttered  the  doleful  lamentation,  "  My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  than  forsaken   me?"  then  their  patience 

*  Mr,  Belsham,  as  quoted  in  the  Appendix  to  Magee  on 
Atonement,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  189-192. 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  303  ' 

was  more  unshrinking,  their  submission  more  un- 
complaining than  his.  From  this  consequence  every 
truly  Christian  heart  revolts,  with  whatever  apathy 
it  may  be  viewed  by  those  whose  steady  aim  and 
persevering  effort  it  is  to  degrade  the  Son  whom 
angels  are  commanded  to  worship,  and  all  to  honor 
even  as  they  honor  the  Father. 

His  official  pre-eminence,  on  this  scheme,  is  as 
great  a  mystery  as  his  personal.  If  his  divinity  be 
denied,  and  his  influence  as  a  teacher  be  confined  to 
his  personal  ministry  and  to  what  is  recorded  of  his 
preaching,  his  pre-eminence  is  **  a  riddle  "-^formore 
souls  appear  to  have  been  brought  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth  by  the  preaching  of  the  apostles  than 
by  his  ;  and  their  writings,  under  the  influence  of 
the  Spirit,  are  more  extensive  and  full  on  the  va- 
rious parts  of  the  Christian  doctrine  than  all  that  is 
extant  of  his  sayings. 

His  priestly  office,  agreeably  to  this  system,  con- 
sists only  in  intercession.  If  Dr.  Channing  relies  on 
the  intercession  of  one  saint,  he  can  certainly  find 
no  fault  with  the  Roman  Catholics  for  their  {-eliance 
on  the  intercession  of  all  saints,  or  any  other  saint. 
The  difficulty  with  Trinitarians  is,  how  these  crea- 
tures can  exercise  a  power  peculiar  to  God,  "  search- 
ing the  heart  "  to  know  what  are  the  wants  of  those 
who  desire  their  interest  at  the  court  of  Heaven. 

Besides,  on  this  scheme  the  intercession  of  Christ 
is  not  only  superfluous,  because  everything  can  be 
accomplished  without  it,  but  it   is  an  insult  to  the 


304  SERMONS. 


Divine  mercy,  by  implying  that   it  needs  anything 
to  excite  it  to  action. 

His  office  of  King  is  turned  into  a  figure  of  speech. 
"  By  the  crown  which  he  wears,  we  understand  the 
eminence  which  he  enjoys  in  the  most  beneficent 
work  in  the  universe,  that  of  bringing  back  the  lost 
mind  to  the  knowledge,  love,  and  likeness  of  its 
Creator."  This  work  he  accomplishes  by  leaving 
us  a  holy  example,  and  teaching  "  the  doctrine  of 
eternal  life,  and  that  the  favor  of  God  extended  to 
the  Gentiles  equally  with  the  Jews,  and  he  was  occa- 
sionally inspired  to  foretell  future  events."  "  But 
when  Jesus  or  his  apostles  deliver  opinions  upon 
subjects  unconnected  with  the  object  of  their  mis- 
sion, such  opinions,  and  their  reasonings  upon  them, 
are  to  be  received  with  the  same  attention  and  cau- 
tion with  those  of  other  persons  in  similar  circum- 
stances, of  similar  education,  and  with  similar  habits 
of  thinking."  It  is  egregious  trifling  with  the  un- 
derstandings and  feelings  of  the  Christian  commu- 
nity for  men  who  can  thus  fritter  away  the  work  and 
offices  of  the  Redeemer  into  sounds,  signifying 
nothing,  to  pretend  either  love  or  respect  for  his 
name.  To  those  who  believe  the  Scriptures  there 
is  no  more  difficulty  (for  all  practical  purposes)  in 
understanding  the  person  of  Christ  composed  of 
two  natures,  divine  and  human,  than  the  person 
of  man  composed  of  body  and  spirit.  All  the  in- 
congruity and  absurdity  of  which  infidels  of  every 
class  have  ever  complained  is    to  be  laid  to    the 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  305 

charge  of  their  own  unbelief,  and  not  of  the  glorious 
fact,  or  the  luminous  evidence  which  proves  it. 

§  8.  "  Unitarianism  promotes  piety,  by  meeting 
the  wants  of  man  as  sinners":  "these  wants  are, 
assurances  of  that  mercy  which  seeks  the  lost,  and 
blesses  the  returning  child." 

To  these  views  there  are  several  insuperable  ob- 
jections. In  the  first  place,  Unitarianism  does  not 
meet  the  wants  of  the  sinner  at  all,  by  giving  any 
solution  to  the  problem,  how  God  can  be  just  and 
yet  justify  the  ungodly.  As  to  how  a  sinner  can  be 
delivered  from  his  obligation  to  punishment,  Dr. 
Channing  does  not  give  a  syllable  of  instruction. 
He  escapes  from  the  difficulty  of  reconciling  the 
claims  of  justice  and  mercy  by  denying  the  claims 
of  justice  altogether.  Unitarianism  "will  not  hear 
of  a  vindictive  wrath  in  God,  which  must  be 
quenched  by  blood  :  or  of  a  justice  which  binds  his 
mercy  with  an  iron  chain,  until  its  demands  are 
satisfied  to  the  full."  Of  course  it  makes  no  pro- 
vision for  the  removal  of  the  sinner's  guilt.  In 
their  rage  for  simplicity,  these  Rational  Christians 
not  only  reject  all  the  Divine  persons  but  one,  and 
every  moral  attribute  but  love,  but  they  deny  the 
relations  of  Governor  and  Judge,  and  leave  him  only 
that  of  Father.  The  proprieties  even  of  this  ref- 
lation condemn  their  scheme;  for,  according  to  the 
laws  given  by  Moses,  parents  were  required  to  ^wi^ 
testimony  against  their  own  rebellious  children,  and 
deliver  them  up  to  death,  not  for  their  amendment, 


3o6"  SERMONS. 


but  that  others  might  hear  and  fear.  (Deut.  xxi., 
18-21.)  Their  views  are  in  perfect  contradiction  to 
reason  as  well  as  Scripture.  If  men  are  moral 
agents,  there  must  be  a  law  and  a  penalty,  a 
governor  and  a  judge.  A  law  without  a  penalty  is 
a  thing  unknown  ;  and  a  law  with  a  penalty  which 
is  never  inflicted,  even  when  the  law  is  most  atro- 
ciously violated,  is  a  bugbear.  Is  God  the  Judge 
of  all  the  earth ;  is  he  the  Governor  among  the 
nations?  Shall  his  throne,  established  in  justice 
and  judgment,  have  fellowship  with  iniquity,  by 
proclaiming  a  universal  amnesty  for  all  manner  and 
degree  of  crimes  that  have  been  or  shall  be  com- 
mitted ?  What  would  men  think  of  a  earthly 
ruler,  who,  instead  of  being  a  terror  to  evil-doers, 
an  avenger  to  execute  wrath,  should  uniformly  par- 
don every  transgressor  of  the  laws  ?  Would  he  not 
be  execrated  by  the  injured  and  insulted  commu- 
nity, as  a  betrayer  of  his  trust,  an  encourager  of 
wickedness,  as  joining  in  a  conspiracy  against  the 
common  good  ? 

This  scheme  denies  of  God  the  attribute  of  jus- 
tice. "  A  God  all  mercy,  is  a  God  unjust."  This 
point  is  clear,  if  "  the  gifted  mind  of  Milton " 
understood  it : 


"  Die  he,  or  Justice  must,  unless  for  him 
Some  other  able  and  as  willing  pay 
The  rigid  satisfaction,  death  for  death." 

— "  Paradise  Lost,"  Book  3. 

If  it  be  no  part  of  the  character  of  God  to  hate 


THE  TRUE  RE  LI  G 10  M.  3^7 

all  workers  of  iniquity,  to  take  vengeance  on  trans- 
gressors, then  either  he  loves  the  way  of  evil-doers, 
and  will  bless  them,  or  he  is  indifferent  to  the  con- 
duct of  his  intelligent  and  moral  creatures.  But  to 
look  with  equal  eye  upon  virtue  and  vice  argues 
an  utter  destitution  of  moral  taste,  an  entire  want 
of  intrinsic  holiness  ;  and  to  bless  with  his  love  and 
everlasting  glory  those  who  have  lived  and  died  in 
sin  would  imply  in  him  who  thus  eminently  rewards 
iniquity  a  character  positively  bad.  Such  notions 
exhibit  the  Creator  not  only  shorn  of  his  glories, 
but  encompassed  with  the  rayless  horrors  of  eternal 
night. 

Now  to  deny  of  God  an  essential  attribute,  is  to 
undeify  him.  Nothing  can  exist  divested  of  any  of 
its  essential  parts.  Take  from  man  his  head  or  his 
heart,  and  he  is  not.  Deny  of  God  the  attribute  of 
rectoral  justice,  and  you  dethrone  him,  or  turn  his 
throne  into  a  throne  of  iniquity.  If  God  is  just, 
those  who  deny  this  attribute  are  atheists.  What 
they  call  God,  has  no  counterpart  in  existence  ;  is  a 
nonentity, — a  nothing.  It  is  as  different  from  the 
true  God,  as  a  headless  trunk  from  a  living  man  ; 
as  the  God  of  Epicurus  from  the  God  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, to  whom  vengeance  belongs. 

Another  objection  to  this  system  is,  that  it 
inflicts  a  deadly  wound  upon  the  interests  of  the 
sinner,  by  administering  an  opiate  to  his  conscience. 
If  all  the  evils  incurred  by  transgression  were  only 
the  loss  of  God's  image  and  the  happiness  of  hea- 


3o8  SERMONS. 


ven,  with  the  shame  and  suffering  which  belong  to 
this,  the  consciences  of  sinners  would  give  them 
little  or  no  disturbance.  For  those  pleasures  they 
have  no  relish ;  nay,  they  are  a  weariness  and  a 
loathing — they  can  not  away  with  them.  Give  them 
a  Mahometan  paradise,  and  the  Christian  heaven 
they  can  lose  without  a  sigh.  It  is  the  fearful  look- 
ing for  of  a  judgment  to  come  that  makes  them 
tremble.  If,  because  sentence  against  an  evil  work 
is  not  executed  speedily,  the  hearts  of  the  children 
of  men  are  fully  set  in  them  to  do  evil,  what  a  full 
swing  will  they  give  to  their  indulgence  in  sin,  when 
assured,  by  a  system  calling  itself  Christian,  that  no 
punishment  will  ever  be  inflicted  ! 

Besides,  the  Unitarian  doctrine  denies  the  attri- 
bute of  mercy,  by  denying  that  there  is  any  penalty 
to  be  remitted ;  of  course,  the  Unitarians  are  yet  to 
be  informed  that  there  is  any  such  *'  quality  "  in 
God. 

The  Trinitarian  idea  of  mercy  is  that  in  common, 
as  well  as  scriptural  use.  "  And  if  he  to  whom  little 
is  forgiven,  will  love  little,  how  much  more  glorious 
will  the  Divine  mercy  appear  to  him,  who  believes 
he  has  been  forgiven  the  debt  of  eternal  death,  than 
to  the  man  who  denies  that  any  debt  of  punishment 
has  ever  been  incurred." — (Luke  vii.,  41-48.) 

The  object  this  scheme  aims  at,  is  to  bring  back 
lost  minds  to  God  ;  and  this  it  has  no  adequate 
means  to  accomplish.  The  love  of  God,  severed 
from   his  justice  and   truth,  has  never  kept  one  of 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  309 

Adam's  race  from  sin,  nor  reclaimed  one  trans- 
gressor from  the  evil  of  his  ways.  Nay,  repentance 
itself  is  impossible.  No  one  can  be  sorry  for  having 
offended  God,  who  believes  that  God  never  was 
offended.  That  sorrow  which  springs  only  from 
having  played  the  fool  with  one's  own  interests,  and 
has  no  respect  to  the  injured  rights  of  God,  is  in  a 
religious  sense  no  repentance  at  all. 

Dr.  Channing  objects  to  Trinitarianism,  that  "it 
gives  such  views  of  God,  that  mercy  cannot  coalesce 
with  him  ;  that  under  his  government  man  has  no 
need  of  mercy,  for  he  owes  no  allegiance  and  there- 
fore can  contract  no  guilt.  He  is  the  injured 
party :  the  wrong  lies  on  the  side  of  the  Creator." 
It  is  evident  at  first  sight,  that  between  these  two 
systems,  each  of  which  charges  the  other  with 
stripping  the  character  of  God  of  both  justice  and 
mercy,  there  can  be  no  compromise,  no  communion, 
no  common  religion.  Those  fearful  consequences 
have  been  charged  upon  Trinitarianism,  because  it 
teaches  that  men  come  into  the  world  charged  with 
the  guilt  of  Adam's  sin,  and  that  eternal  punish- 
ment is  threatened  as  the  wages  of  sin.  The  fact  of 
guilt  derived  from  the  sin  of  man's  representative 
is  the  only  reasonable  account  of  the  phenomena  of 
original  and  universal  depravity,  and  the  ills  that 
flesh  is  heir  to.  It  is  a  fact  that  accords  with  all 
that  we  know  of  the  dispensations  of  Providence, 
and  only  assumes  what  is  a  first  principle  in  reli- 
gion— what  God  does,  must  be  right.     What  God 


3IO  SERMONS. 


has  threatened  can  be  known  only  from  what  he  has 
declared  in  his  Word,  and  can  therefore  never  be 
determined  by  general  reason.  The  appeal  is  to  the 
Word  and  to  the  testimony.  But  if,  as  Trinitarians 
believe,  these  doctrines  are  clearly  taught  in  the 
Word  of  God,  and  confirmed  by  the  voice  of  reason, 
as  far  as  reason  testifies,  then  these  consequences 
belong  to  Dr.  Channing  himself,  and  those  who 
think  with  him.  They  have  taken  part  with  the 
enemies  of  God.  They  have  presumptuously  dared 
to  call  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  to  their  bar,  and  con- 
demn him  as  unmerciful  and  unjust.  How  fearful 
the  depravity  which  could  venture  upon  a  position 
like  this  !  How  deadly  the  enmity  against  the  Only 
True  God,  which  could  give  expression  to  blasphe- 
mies fit  only  for  the  tenants  of  hell ! 

He  objects  to  the  manner  in  which  Trinitarianism 
supposes  pardon  to  be  communicated.  It  teaches 
"that  the  sufferings  of  the  sinner  are  removed  by  a 
full  satisfaction  made  to  Divine  justice,  in  the  suffer- 
ings of  a  substitute."  To  this  he  opposes  his  own 
definition  of  forgiveness,  w^hich  excludes  all  judicial 
infliction  on  account  of  sin,  and  which  is  contrary  to 
the  meaning  of  the  term  in  Scripture  and  common 
use.  On  this  point  let  us  hear  the  gifted  Locke,  for 
whose  authority  Unitarians  pretend  so  much  rever- 
ence. In  his  paraphrase  on  Rom.  iv.,  25,  he  says 
of  Jesus  our  Lord,  "  who  was  delivered  to  death  for 
our  offenses,  and  was  raised  again  for  our  justifica- 
tion ";  and  in  his  note  on  the  same  place,  "  that  our 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  311 

Saviour  by  his  death  atoned  for  our  sins,  and  so  we 
were  innocent,  and  thereby  freed  from  the  punish- 
ment due  to  sin." 

The  salvation  of  the  sinner  is  a  matter  of  pure 
mercy  to  him.  The  intervention  of  a  substitute 
makes  the  exercise  of  mercy  consistent  with  the 
claims  of  justice.  But  Dr.  Channing  does  not  like 
this  circuitous  remission.  ''Nothing,"  he  says, 
"  should  stand  between  the  soul  and  God's  mercy." 
No.  Not  even  to  preserve  inviolate  the  justice  and 
truth  of  God?  Why  then  does  the  intercession  of 
Christ  stand  between  the  soul  and  God's  mercy? 

He  objects  to  the  doctrine  of  an  infinite  atone- 
ment :  First,  that  "  it  supposes  man  placed  under  a 
legislation,  and  the  sovereign  possessed  of  attributes 
at  which  he  shudders."  Many  a  criminal  has  shud- 
dered before  at  the  severity  of  the  law  which  con- 
demned him  to  death.  But  in  a  contest  between  a 
judge  and  a  criminal  at  his  bar,  about  the  evil  of 
his  sin,  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  whose  opinion  de- 
serves the  most  weight.  The  comparison  by  which 
he  endeavors  to  bring  odium  upon  the  doctrine  of 
the  cross,  serves  only  to  show  his  enmity  to  the 
truth.  As  it  contains  no  argument,  it  requires  none 
in  reply.  "  Christ  crucified  "  haa  been,  in  every  age, 
"to  the  Jew  a  stumbling-block,  and  to  the  Greek 
foolishness."  It  does  contain,  however,  a  gross  and 
willful  misrepresentation  of  the  Trinitarian  doctrine  ; 
I  say  willful,  for  in  the  very  next  paragraph  he  states 
and  endeavors  to  set  their  doctrine  aside.     He  has 


312  SEJ^A/OJVS. 


said  that  the  primary  idea  of  atonement  is  "the 
public  execution  of  a  God,"  which  according  to  him- 
self means  that  "  the  Eternal  Being  really  suffered 
and  died."  To  represent  the  Divine  Nature  as  suf- 
fering death  is  not  only  unauthorized,  but  directly 
contrary  to  the  Trinitarian  doctrine.  Their  stand- 
ard writings  and  confessions  of  faith  give  no  coun- 
tenance to  any  such  idea.  This  he  ought  to  have 
known  before  he  ventured  to  publish  such  a  charge. 
They  publish  to  the  world  what  he  would  intimate 
is  only  to  be  extorted  from  the  private  convictions 
of  pious  Trinitarians.  '*  God  took  into  union  with 
himself  our  nature,  that  is,  a  human  body  and  soul, 
and  these  bore  the  suffering  for  our  sins  ;  which  per- 
son is  very  God  and  very  man,  yet  one  Christ." 

"  He  endured  most  grievous  torments  imme- 
diately in  his  soul,  and  most  painful  sufferings  in 
his  body."  * 

The  rule  confirmed  by  scriptural  and  common 
use,  by  which  the  orthodox  language  on  this  sub- 
ject is  justified,  is  thus  laid  down  :  "  Christ,  in  the 
work  of  mediation,  acteth  according  to  both  na- 
tures, by  each  nature  doing  that  which  is  proper 
to  itself;  yet,  by  reason  of  the  unity  of  the  person, 
that  which  is  proper  to  one  nature  is  sometimes  in 
Scripture  attributed  to  the  person  denominated  by 
the  other  nature."  (Acts  xx.  28.  John  iii.  13.  i 
John  iii.  16.)     How  common  an  expression  it  is  for 

*  Westminster  Confession,  chap.  viii. 


THE   TRUE  RELIGION.  313 

the  loss  of  lives  at  sea, — "  Every  soul  on  board 
perished  !  "  Thus  having  charged  Trinitarians  with 
what  they  do  not  hold,  he  construes  their  denial  of 
it  into  a  confession  of  defeat,  whilst  the  real  point 
in  debate  remains  untouched, — Whether  the  divine 
nature  being  united  to  the  human,  in  the  one  per- 
son of  Christ,  "  without  conversion,  composition,  or 
confusion,"  does  not  give  to  the  vicarious  sufferings 
of  the  human  nature,  as  an  atonement  for  sin,  a 
value  that  is  infinite  ? 

His  second  objection  is,  that  the  doctrine  is 
"  wholly  delusion." 

This  goes  upon  the  supposition,  that  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ's  human  nature  derive  no  additional 
value  from  its  union  with  his  Divine  person.  Locke 
quotes  Acts  xx.  28,  very  familiarly  to  prove  a  pur- 
chase: ''the  church  of  God,  which  he  purchased 
with  his  own  blood."  His  "'  gifted  mind  "  saw  no 
delusion  in  the  doctrine.  It  is  as  truly  the  afBiction 
of  a  man  that  his  finger  is  cut,  as  that  his  good 
name  is  slandered  ;  although  the  seat  of  suffering 
in  the  one  case  is  his  body,  in  the  other  his  mind. 
The  suffering  endured  by  a  man's  body  is  a  greater 
natural  evil  than  the  same  amount  of  pain  endured 
by  the  body  of  a  brute  ;  and  the  wounds  of  a 
patriot  general  in  behalf  of  his  country  endear  him 
more  to  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  than  those 
of  his  private  soldiers  endear  them.  If,  then,  the 
same  amount  of  suffering  rises  in  importance  with 
the  dignity  of  the  sufferer,  who  shall  limit  the  im- 


314  SERMONS. 


portance  of  the  sufferings,  as  an  atonement  for  sin, 
endured  in  his  human  nature  by  Emanuel,  God 
with  us. 

In  a  postscript  to  his  sermon  Dr.  Channing 
laments  the  necessity  he  was  under  of  using  the  word 
atonement  in  its  Trinitarian  sense.  What  then  is 
the  true  sense  ?  **  I  have  a  strong  impression  that 
the  prevalent  views  of  it  may  easily  be  shown  to  be 
false,  though  the  true  views  of  it  may  not  so  easily 
be  established.  On  this  point  there  is  a  diversity 
of  opinion."  But  Unitarians  have  pretended  to 
explain  it  by  the  moral  influence  of  Christ's  suffer- 
ings, in  the  way  of  example,  and  as  a  confirmation 
of  the  truth  which  he  taught.  Now  it  seems  that 
the  true  views  of  this  fundamental  doctrine  have 
never  yet  been  established,  not  even  by  these 
modern  luminaries  themselves.  Their  establish- 
ment exists  only  in  the  unexplored  and  difficult 
regions  of  possibility.  If  Unitarians  have  author- 
ized Dr.  Channing  to  be  their  confessor,  they  have 
swung  from  their  moorings,  and  know  not  where 
they  shall  anchor  again.  Afloat  upon  the  ocean  of 
scepticism,  but  one  point  is  determined — that  they 
never  will  yield  to  the  truth. 

§  9.  Unitarianism  promotes  piety,  because  it  is  a 
rational  religion."  How  rational  this  religion  is, 
has  been  seen  in  the  preceeding  part  of  these 
remarks.  A  very  rational  religion  truly!  which 
prefers  groundless  and  ever-shifting  theory  to  the 
plainest  facts  in  the  providence  and  word  of  God ; 


THE  TRUE  religion:  3^5 

which,  if  its  principles  were  reduced  to  practice, 
would  subvert  the  foundations  of  civil  society.  By- 
denouncing  all  judicial  inflictions,  it  would  let  the 
worst  part  of  society  loose  like  beasts  of  prey,  to 
raven  upon  the  best :  it  would  dethrone  Jehovah 
from  the  government  of  his  own  creatures,  forcing 
him  to  see  his  laws  trampled  upon,  his  mercy 
despised,  and  his  threatenings  set  at  nought  with 
impunity.  What  it  wants,  however,  in  reason,  it 
makes  up  in  **  reasoning  pride,"  a  quality  common 
to  infidels  of  every  class,  from  the  foul-mouthed 
Atheist  to  the  smooth-tongued  Unitarian. 

On  the  other  hand,  whilst  Trinitarians  contending 
for  the  supreme  jurisdiction  of  the  holy  Scriptures 
on  the  subject  of  religion,  "  believe  and  show  the 
reason  of  a  man,"  they  deny  the  charge  brought 
against  them  by  their  opponents,  that  they  quench 
their  intellectual  light.  They  give  to  reason  the 
place  and  office  which  belong  to  her,  to  determine, 
first,  the  evidences  of  Divine  revelation,  and  then, 
by  fair  interpretation,  what  that  revelation  contains. 
They  only  refuse  to  exalt  her  to  a  station  which  the 
experience  of  the  world  demonstrates  that  she  is 
utterly  unable  to  fill.  And  to  reject  the  light  of 
revelation  in  favor  of  that  reason,  is  as  absurd  as 
to  refuse  the  aid  of  the  king  of  day  in  discerning 
the  face  of  a  country,  and  the  relative  situation  of 
places  upon  it,  and  insist  on  determining  those 
things  by  the  light  of  a  taper  at  midnight.  Since 
then,  upon  examination,  it  turns  out  that  the  light 


1 6  SERMONS. 


within  them  (of  which  Unitarians  boast  so  loudly) 
is  darkness,  how  great  is  their  darkness !  Having 
heard  the  verdict  of  reason,  let  us  bring  this  cause 
to  the  tribunal  of  Scripture,  and  submit  with  rever- 
ence to  its  unerring  decisions. 

§  I.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  Is  taught,  Matt, 
xxviii.  19:  "Baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Baptism  is  the  seal  of  admission  into  the  household 
of  God — the  sacred  rite  by  which  is  performed  the 
most  solemn  act  of  religious  worship,  even  the  con- 
secration of  the  whole  man,  to  the  service  and  glory 
of  God.  "  In  or  into  the  name,"  expresses  to  whom 
the  consecration  is  made.  That  it  is  made  to  the 
Father,  is  not  disputed  ;  but  whatever  proves  this 
in  the  text  proves  equally  that  it  is  made  also  to 
the  Son  and  to  the  Holy  Spirit — the  Triune  God  of 
the  Bible.  A  man  can  do  no  greater  honor  to  God 
than  to  devote  himself  to  him.  In  devoting  him- 
self, then,  to  the  Son  and  Holy  Spirit,  he  regards 
them  together  with  the  Father,  his  God.  It  is 
absurd  to  suppose  that  the  baptized  are  devoted  to 
the  service  and  glory  of  a  creature,  and  "■  emana- 
tions," in  the  same  manner  and  with  the  same  solem- 
nity as  to  the  Most  High  God.  It  is  inconceivable 
why  the  Saviour  should  use  language  which  is 
directly  calculated,  if  the  Unitarian  hypothesis  be 
true,  to  promote  idolatry,  Moreover,  in  obeying 
this  command,  the  apostles  baptized  into  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  which  can  only  be  justified  by 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  317 

saying  that,  when  one  Divine  person  is  named,  the 
others  are  understood  from  the  unity  of  the  Divine 
Nature.  The  argument  is  equally  strong,  if  the 
formula  be  rendered  as  in  our  version,  "  in  the  name, 
by  the  authority  ";  for  if  "■  in  the  name  of  the  Father  " 
means  by  the  authority  of  God  (and  the  phrase  is 
equally  strong  in  the  case  of  the  Son  and  Holy 
Spirit),  their  authority  is,  equally  with  that  of  the 
Father,  the  authority  of  God.  But  that  a  creature, 
and  "  emanations,"  should  be  joined  in  an  act  of 
supreme  authority  with  the  Most  High  God,  is 
absurd.  The  truth  contained  in  this  passage, 
written  over  the  very  threshold  of  visible  Christ- 
ianity, is  corroborated  by  others  in  the  commence- 
ment of  revelation.  Gen.  i.  26  ;  "  And  God  said, 
let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  like- 
ness." Here  God  is  represented  in  some  sense 
plural,  and  holding  counsel  about  the  creation  of 
man.  The  meaning  is  clear  on  the  Trinitarian 
doctrine,  but  utterly  inexplicable  on  any  other. 
Some  have  said  that  God  took  counsel  with  his 
angels.  But  were  they  capable  of  acting  the  part  of 
creators,  or  of  being  his  counselors  to  teach  him  ? 
"  I  am  Jehovah,  that  maketh  all  things,  that 
stretcheth  forth  the  heavens  alone,  that  spreadeth 
abroad  the  earth  by  myself."  Besides,  when  man 
was  made,  it  was  in  the  image  of  God,  and  not  of 
angels.  Again :  it  has  been  said  that  God  speaks 
after  the  manner  of  earthly  kings.  But  the  form  of 
speaking  was  utterly  unknown  among  the  kings  of 


3i8  SERMONS. 


ancient  times :  not  an  example  of  it  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Bible.  2  Cor.  xiii.  14:  "The  grace  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of  God,  and  the 
communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you  all." 

Now,  as  it  is  acknowledged  on  all  hands  that 
when  the  apostle  says  "  the  love  of  God  be  with  you 
all,"  it  is  a  prayer  to  the  Father,  that  his  love  might 
be  with  his  people,  so  when  he  says,  "  the  grace 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  all,"  it  is  a 
prayer  to  the  Son,  for  his  grace  upon  the  people  ; 
and  so  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  for  the  form  of  expression 
in  all  these  cases  is  precisely  the  same.  This  inter- 
pretation is  confirmed  by  parallel  passages.  Rom. 
i.  7  :  "  Grace  to  you,  and  peace  from  God  our  Father 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  I  Cor.  xvi.  23  :  "  The 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you." 

Rev.  i.  4,  5  :  ''  Grace  be  unto  you,  and  peace, 
from  him  which  is,  and  which  was,  and  which  is  to 
come  ;  and  from  the  seven  Spirits  which  are  before 
his  throne  ;  and  from  Jesus  Christ."  On  the  Trini- 
tarian system  these  passages  are  consistent  and  intel- 
ligible ;  but  according  to  the  Unitarian,  the  apostle 
invokes  grace  and  peace  from  a  creature  and  emana- 
tions equally  with  the  only  true  God.  Can  prayer  to 
the  Virgin  Mary,  and  all  the  other  saints  in  the 
Roman  calendar,  be  more  idolatrous  and  absurd  ? 
What  can  the  grace  of  Christ  mean  more  than  the 
grace  of  Abraham  or  Paul?  How  does  addressing 
prayer  to  "emanations"  differ  from  the  worship  of 
the  pagan  goddess  Fear? 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  3^9 

To  give  its  full  force  to  the  argument  from  scrip- 
ture in  support  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  adduce  the  numerous  pas- 
sages which  prove  the  true  and  proper  divinity  of 
the  Son,  and  the  personality  and  divinity  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  A  few  texts  will  be  quoted  as  speci- 
mens. 

1.  The  divinity  of  the  Son  is  taught,  John  i.,  1-3  : 
"  The  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God. 
The  same  was  in  the  beginning  with  God.  All 
things  were  made  by  him  ;  and  without  him  was  not 
anything  made  that  was  made."  Ver.  14:  "And 
the  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us, 
(and  we  beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only 
begotten  of  the  Father,)  full  of  grace  and  truth. 
Rom.  ix.,  5  :  "Of  whom  as  concerning  the  flesh, 
Christ  came,  who  is  over  all,  God  blessed  forever." 
Heb.  i.,  8:  "Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for  ever  and 
ever."  Ver.  6 :  "  When  he  bringeth  in  the  first- 
begotten  into  the  world,  he  saith.  And  let  all  the 
angels  of  God  worship  him."  Rev.  v.,  13:  "And 
every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth, 
and  such  as  are  in  the  sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them, 
heard  I  saying.  Blessing,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and 
power,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne, 
and  unto  the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever." 

2.  In  confirmation  of  the  divinity  and  personality 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  consider  John  xiv.,  26 :  "  But  the 
Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the 
Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  shall  teach  you  all 


320  SERMONS. 


things."  Acts  v.,  3-4 :  "  Why  hath  Satan  filled  thine 
heart  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost?  Thou  hast  not 
lied  unto  men,  but  unto  God."  i  Cor.  ii.,  10: 
"For  the  Spirit  searcheth  all  things;  yea,  the 
deep  things  of  God."  Ps.  cxxxix.,  7:  '' Whither 
shall  I  go  from  thy  spirit  ?  or  whither  shall  I  flee 
from  thy  presence?"  2  Pet.  i.,  21:  "For  the 
prophecy  came  not  in  old  time  by  the  will  of 
man,  but  holy  men  of  God,  spake  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  i  Cor.  xii.,  11  :  "But 
all  these  worketh  that  one  and  the  self-same  Spirit, 
dividing  to  every  man  severally  as  he  will."  Heb. 
ix.,  14:  "  How  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ, 
who  through  the  eternal  Spirit  offered  himself  with- 
out spot  to  God,  purge  your  consciences  from  dead 
works  to  serve  the  living  God." 

One  of  the  arts  by  which  Unitarians  attempt  to 
impose  upon  the  ignorant  and  unwary,  is  to  quote 
passages  of  Scripture  relating  to  one  part  of  a  sub- 
ject, and  thence  draw  inferences  against  another 
part.  They  adduce  texts  to  prove  that  there  is 
only  one  God,  which  Trinitarians  assert  as  well  as 
they ;  and  thence  infer  an  entirely  different  thing — 
that  there  are  not  three  persons  in  that  one  God. 
Their  authorities  contain  nothing  on  the  point  at 
issue. 

To  disprove  the  Divine  nature  of  the  Son,  they 
produce  Scripture  to  show  that  he  has  the  nature  of 
man.  On  the  subject  of  the  true  humanity  of  the 
Saviour,  there  is  no  dispute.     We  say  that  the  Word 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  32 1 

became  flesh  ;  was  made  of  the  seed  of  David  ac- 
cording to  the  flesh.  But  we  say  more  (Rom.  ix., 
5),  that  '*  He  is  over  all,  God  blessed  forever." 
Philip  ii.,  6,  7:  "Who  being  in  the  form  of  God, 
thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God :  but 
made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him 
the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness 
of  men."  These  texts  afford  a  very  natural  expla- 
nation of  the  different  representations  which  the 
Scriptures  give  of  the  Redeemer.  When  he  is  said 
to  grow  in  wisdom  and  in  stature — not  to  know  the 
day  of  judgment — to  be  inferior  to  the  Father, — 
how  obvious  is  it  to  refer  these  descriptions  to 
his  human  nature,  and  his  becoming  the  Father's 
servant  in  assuming  the  ofifice  of  Mediator! 

But  when  the  names,  and  attributes,  and  works, 
and  worship,  which  are  proper  only  to  God,  are 
ascribed  to  him,  to  what  shall  these  be  referred  but 
to  his  Divine  nature  ?  If  any  one,  in  attempting  to 
prove  that  there  is  no  spirit  in  man,  should  produce 
the  evidence  that  he  has  a  body,  it  would  be  re- 
garded as  a  demonstration  of  the  weakness  of  his 
own  mind,  or  an  insult  to  the  understanding  of  his 
readers.  There  is  as  much  sound  philosophy  in 
this,  as  there  is  of  genuine  theology  in  the  argument 
which  would  refute  the  doctrine  of  the  Saviour's 
divinity,  by  proving  his  human  nature.  It  would  be 
very  difficult,  indeed,  for  Dr.  Channing  to  compose  a 
sermon  against  Trinitarian  doctrines,  were  he  to 
confine  himself  to  Scripture  testimonies  against  them 


322  SERMONS. 


on  the  points  debated,  for  not  one  such  testimony 
does  the  Bible  contain.  His  difficulty  will  be,  not 
to  condense  within  proper  limits  the  multiplicity 
of  his  proofs,  but  to  collect  any  materials  for  such  a 
work  at  all:  **  Hoc  opus  hie  labor  est."  He  will 
need  optics  of  Hudibrastic  keenness,  '*  to  see  what  is 
not  to  be  seen." 

§  2.  The  doctrine  of  innate  universal  depravity 
is  taught  in  such  texts  as  these :  Gen.  vi.,  5  :  "  And 
God  saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in 
the  earth,  and  that  every  imagination  of  the 
thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil  continually." 
Gen.  viii.,  21  :  **  For  the  imagination  of  man's  heart 
is  evil  from  his  youth."  Ps.  xiv.,  2,  3 :  "  The  Lord 
looked  down  from  heaven  upon  the  children  of 
men,  to  see  if  there  were  any  that  did  understand, 
and  seek  God.  They  are  all  gone  aside,  they  are 
altogether  become  filthy :  there  is  none  that  doeth 
good,  no,  not  one."  Ps.  li.,  5  :  "  Behold,  I  was  shapen 
in  iniquity ;  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive 
me."  Eph.  ii.,  i,  3 :  "  Ye  were  dead  in  trespasses 
and  sins ;  were  by  nature  children  of  wrath,  even  as 
others."  Believers  to  whom  the  apostle  wrote,  and 
others,  divide  the  world  between  them ;  therefore 
all  are  by  nature  children  of  wrath.  Rom.  v.,  12: 
*'  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and 
death  by  sin ;  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men, 
for  that  all  have  sinned."  Ver.  18:  "By  the 
offense  of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to 
condemnation."   "  By  one  man's  disobedience,  many 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  323 

were  made  sinners."  The  same  doctrine  is  implied 
in  all  those  texts  which  teach  the  necessity  of 
regeneration.  Thus  saith  the  Amen,  the  faithful 
and  true  Witness,  John  iii.,  3  :  "  Except  a  man  be 
born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 
Ver .  7 :  "  Marvel  not  that  I  said  unto  thee,  Ye 
must  be  born  again." 

§  3.  The  doctrine  of  Atonement,  or  redemption 
by  the  blood  of  Christ,  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
the  penalty  of  sin.  Of  this  the  sacrifices  under  the 
law  were  types.  Heb.  x.,  i:  "The  law  having  a 
shadow  of  good  things  to  come."  Heb.  ix.,  12  : 
"  Neither  by  the  blood  of  goats  and  calves,  but  by 
his  own  blood,  he  entered  in  once  into  the  holy 
place,  having  obtained  eternal  redemption  for  us." 
Unitarianism  reverses  the  scriptural  order,  and 
explains  away  the  sacrificial  language  applied  to 
Christ,  by  calling  it  allusion  to  the  sacrifices  of  the 
law.  Gal.  iii.,  13:  ''Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from 
the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us." 
I  Pet.  ii.,  24:  "Who  his  own  self  bare  our  sins  in 
his  own  body  on  the  tree :  by  whose  stripes  ye 
were  healed."  Rev.  i.,  5,  6  :  "  Unto  him  that  loved 
us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood  ; 
to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever." 
If  such  language  does  not  express  the  idea  that  the 
sufferings  of  Christ  removed  from  believers  the 
punishment  due  to  their  sins,  no  words  can  express 
it,  for  there  are  none  plainer  in  any  language. 
According  to  the  Unitarian  exposition,  we  ought  to 


324  SERMONS. 


say  we  were  redeemed  by  Stephen,  and  Peter,  and 
James,  for  they  also  left  us  a  good  example,  and 
sealed  their  doctrine  in  their  blood. 

§  4.  The  necessity  of  an  Atonement,  in  order  to 
the  salvation  of  sinners.  Heb.  ix.,  22  :  *'  Without 
shedding  of  blood,  there  is  no  remission."  Ex. 
xxxiv.,  7:  God  "will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty." 
Ps.  Ixxxix.,  14  :  "  Justice  and  judgment  are  the  habi- 
tation of  thy  throne."  Ps.  xi.  6 :  "  Upon  the  wicked 
he  shall  rain  snares,  fire  and  brimstone,  and  an 
horrible  tempest :  this  shall  be  the  portion  of  their 
cup."     Rom.  vi.,  23  :  "  The  wages  of  sin  is  death." 

§  5.  The  necessity  of  an  individual  interest  in  the 
righteousness  of  Christ.  Rom.  x.,4:  "Christ  is 
the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one 
that  believeth."  John  iii.,  36:  "  He  that  believeth 
on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life :  and  he  that 
believeth  not  the  Son,  shall  not  see  life ;  but  the 
wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." 

§  6.  The  eternity  of  the  punishment  of  the 
wicked.  Matt,  xxv.,  46 :  "  These  shall  go  away  into 
everlasting  punishment."  Rev.  xiv.,  ii :  "  The 
smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  for  ever  and 
ever."  Mark  ix.,  44:  "Where  their  worm  dieth 
not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched."  These  texts  need 
no  comment.  If  any  will  not  believe  them,  neither 
will  they  be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the 
dead. 

In  opposition  to  these,  and  the  other  correspond- 
ing doctrines  of  the  oracles  of  God,  all  that  is  pecu- 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  325 

liar  to  Unitarianism  consists.  Unless  therefore,  their 
system  is  better  than  the  Bible,  it  can  not  be  better 
calculated  to  promote  "a  truly  elevated  Christian 
character "  than  that  which  it  opposes.  Indeed 
they  who  hold  it  have  no  right  to  be  called  Chris- 
tians, any  more  than  they  deserve  to  be  called  New- 
tonian philosophers  who  contradict  the  distinguish- 
ing principles  in  the  system  of  Newton ;  or  repub- 
licans, who  denounce  and  oppose  all  that  is  charac- 
teristic of  a  republican  government. 

We  are  now  prepared  for  placing  this  question : 
Whether  Trinitarianism  or  its  opposite  is  better 
calculated  to  form  a  truly  elevated  religious  char- 
acter on  its  proper  ground  ?  Reason,  on  being 
examined,  gives  not  a  whisper  of  evidence  in  favor 
of  Unitarianism  ;  and  her  testimony,  although  fav- 
orable to  Trinitarianism  as  far  as  it  goes,  is,  alone 
and  unaided,  quite  insufficient  to  inform  us  wherein 
the  religion  of  a  sinner  consists,  or  how  to  attain  it. 
Whilst  those  who  prefer  her  light  to  that  of  revela- 
tion are  unavoidably  left  to  the  darkness  which 
they  love,  it  may  be  satisfactory  to  those  who  are 
willing  to  be  taught  by  Him  who  cannot  lie,  briefly 
to  state  the  question  according  to  the  Scriptures. 
It  may  also  be  important  to  remark,  that  while 
Reason,  considered  as  an  eternal  light,  by  which  the 
nature  and  relations  of  things  are  made  known,  is 
left  out  of  view,  yet  Reason,  as  the  eye  of  the  mind, 
which  judges  of  objects  upon  which  a  sufficient 
light  is   thrown  by  revelation,  is  never  abandoned. 


326  SERMONS. 


and  her  office  in  the  whole  business  of  religion  is 
quite  indispensable. 

1.  As  the  first  step  in  the  formation  of  this  religious 
character,  a  great  moral  change  is  necessary  in  every 
instance. 

2  Cor.  v.,  17 :  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a 
new  creature." 

John  iii.,  3  :  "  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he 
can  not  see   the  kingdom  of  God." 

Now  the  orthodox  scheme  tends  to  produce  this 
commencement  of  religion,  by  teaching  the  doc- 
trines— 1st,  Of  original  and  universal  depravity; 
and,  2d,  Consequently  the  necessity  of  regenera- 
tion ;  3d,  The  necessity  of  Divine  and  supernatural 
influence  to  produce  it,  and  the  agency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  its  production,  hence  called  the  '*  renewing 
of  the  Holy  Ghost."  But  the  Unitarian  tendency 
is  all  against  this  work  ;  for  they  deny  the  heredi- 
tary guilt  which  makes  it  necessary,  and  the  divinity 
and  personality  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Author  of 
the  change,  its  increase  and  perfection. 

2,  The  rnan  turned  from  darkness  unto  light,  and 
from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God,  lives  a  life  of 
faith  upon  the  Son  of  God,  as  the  ground  of  his 
hope  for  pardon  and  eternal  life. 

Trinitarianism  promotes  this,  by  teaching  the 
necessity  of  an  atonement,  in  order  to  the  salvation 
of  sinners ;  that  one  of  infinite  value  has  been 
made  by  the  death  of  Christ,  by  which  those  who 
believe  on  him  are  redeemed   from  the  curse  of  the 


THE  TRUE  RELIGION.  327 

law,  the  penalty  of  sin.  Unitarian  tendency  moves 
in  an  opposite  direction  ;  for  they  reject  both  the 
necessity  and  the  fact  of  any  satisfaction  being 
rendered  to  the  justice  of  God  for  the  sins  of  those 
who  are  saved. 

3.  The  God  to  whose  service  and  glory  he  is  de- 
voted  is  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 

The  Trinitarian  system  promotes  this  devotion, 
by  teaching  that  the  true  God  is  a  Trinity.  Uni- 
tarianism  exerts  all  its  energies  to  expel  the  belief  of 
that  doctrine  from  the  world. 

4.  He  reverences  and  adores  the  holiness  and 
justice  which  make  sin  exceeding  sinful,  and  de- 
nounces eternal  woe  upon  all  impenitent  trans- 
gressors, nay,  the  curse  upon  every  violation  of  the 
law,  whilst  he  is  grateful  for  the  mercy  which  pro- 
vided an  infinite  ransom.  "God  so  loved  the 
world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  who- 
soever believeth  in  him  might  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life." 

Trinitarianism  tends  to  promote  both  the  fear 
and  the  love  of  God,  by  teaching  that  they  are  due, 
to  the  utmost  of  our  faculties,  to  the  harmonious 
excellencies  of  the  Divine  Character,  as  they  are  ex- 
hibited most  gloriously  in  the  work  of  redemption, 
(Ps.  Ixxxv.  10),  where  ''  Mercy  and  truth  are  met 
together;  righteousness  and  peace  have  kissed  each 
other."  But  Unitarianism  teaches  its  votaries, 
**  instead  of  thanking  the  Sovereign  for  providing 
an   infinite  substitute,  to  shudder  at  the  attributes 


328  SERMONS. 


which  render  this  expedient  necessary."  The  con- 
clusion of  the  whole  matter  is,  that  Unitarianism, 
instead  of  tending  to  form  an  elevated  religious 
character,  is  directly  calculated  as  far  as  it  prevails, 
to  banish  true  religion  from  the  world. 

In  fine,  let  all  who  love  the  truth  and  the  souls 
of  men  be  reminded,  that  the  question  in  this  con- 
troversy is  not  whether  a  more  or  less  perfect  form 
of  Christianity  shall  prevail,  but  whether  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Scriptures  is  to  be  preferred  before  the 
traditions  and  inventions  of  men.  Let  them  be 
awake  to  the  existence  and  ruinous  nature  of  that 
anti-Christian  system  which,  with  siren  voice,  allures 
but  to  destroy  ;  which  fortifies  the  natural  ungodli- 
ness of  men  with  the  mail  of  an  infidel  philosophy, 
until  its  wretched  votaries,  their  consciences  quieted 
by  a  spurious  religion,  and  themselves  removed 
from  the  means  and  the  influences  of  the  true  gos- 
pel, unto  another  which  is  not  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
waste  in  vanity  the  time  of  their  merciful  visitation, 
^nd  then  sink  into  the  jaws  of  the  second  death. 

While,  then,  you  regard  with  true  benevolence 
the  persons  of  those  who  oppose  themselves  to  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus — the  doctrine  that  is  accord- 
ing to  godliness — give  no  place,  no,  not  for  a 
moment,  to  their  heresies  of  perdition.  Trini- 
tarians will,  moreover,  account  it  their  duty  not 
only  to  instruct  those  who  oppose  themselves,  but 
also  to  pray  for  them,  if  peradventure  God  may 
grant   them  repentance,  to  the  acknowledging    of 


THE   TRUE  RELIGION.  329 

the  truth,  and  that  they  may  deliver  themselves  out 
of  the  snare  of  the  devil,  who  are  led  captive  by  him 
at  his  will.  Thus  only  can  the  charity  of  Trini- 
tarians embrace  their  theological  antipodes ;  for  if 
our  gospel  be  hid,  it  is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost,  in 
whom  the  god  of  this  world  hath  blinded  the  minds 
of  them  which  believe  not,  lest  the  light  of  the 
glorious  gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God, 
should  shine  unto  them.  They  who  possess  the 
temper  of  Him  who  prayed  for  his  murderers  do 
earnestly  desire  that  the  Unitarians,  like  Paul,  may 
embrace,  and  even  "  preach  the  gospel  which  once 
they  destroyed  ";  like  holy  Stephen,  may  commit 
their  immortal  souls,  at  the  hour  of  death,  into  the 
hands  of  the  Redeemer,  praying,  *'  Lord  Jesus,  re- 
ceive my  spirit !  "  and,  welcomed  to  the  joy  of  their 
Lord,  may  unite  in  the  anthem  of  the  skies,  ascrib- 
ing ''blessing,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  power  to 
Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the 
Lamb  for  ever  and  ever  !  " 


